Chants of “No more pipelines!” rang out along the Peekskill Riverwalk on an unseasonably hot October afternoon. More than 100 people – comprised of residents, activists, and families – gathered at Charles Point Park on Oct. 4 to march in protest of proposed new fracked gas pipelines and expansions of the current ones.

Their voices echoed across the waterfront, aimed directly at New York Governor Kathy Hochul and President Donald Trump. “Trump, Trump, time to go! Fossil fuels have got to slow! Hochul, Hochul, listen up! No more pipelines,time is up!”

The Trump administration has put pressure on Hochul to revive dormant pipeline projects, which have been shut down over environmental concerns. Having met several times with Trump, Hochul has said that no explicit deal was made, adding that any pipeline projects need to meet state law and standards. 

At the rally, standing in solidarity as a group, chants rang out in Peekskill. “Everybody, everywhere! Say it loud, say it clear! We don’t want your pipelines here! We don’t want them anywhere!”

As the group began marching along the Hudson River to Riverfront Park from Charles Point, hoping to raise awareness, with a plenitude of placards waving in the balmy fall air, some had their children perched on their shoulders, amplifying their message. 

The march channeled local concern into policy demands, including to stop pipeline revivals; halt pipeline expansions; and cease the “reckless” disposal of radioactive waste into the Hudson River. 

As some of the older protesters marched along the Peekskill Riverwalk, they could be heard murmuring beneath the loud chants, “I thought we had already stopped this.”

The revived pipelines in the protesters’ cross-hairs are Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Pipeline, Constitution Pipeline, Iroquois Pipeline and Algonquin Pipeline. 

Concerning the radioactive waste, a federal judge recently ruled that New York’s 2023 ban can’t block Holtec International from dumping 45,000 gallons of radioactive water into the Hudson River. 

John Rath, 69, says that the fight continues because of “greed,” adding, “How hot does it have to get before people realize that burning things makes it hotter? When are we going to change. The people here seem to believe that it needs to change quickly.”

The protest’s main organizer and speaker, Courtney Williams, pointed to the Algonquin Pipeline, which runs underneath the Hudson River and beneath the decommissioned Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. She pointed out that the pipeline passes what she considers an uncomfortably close 400 feet from homes and an elementary school.  

“Even when it’s working ‘as designed,’ this pipeline is spewing methane into the atmosphere and pumping pollutants that cause asthma and heart disease,” Williams said. “We live with the rupture risk every day.” She said the Peekskill rally was part of a coordinated statewide push that included a simultaneous protest in Staten Island. 

Emily Skydell, senior organizer and speaker for Food & Water Watch, said the NESE Pipeline “was denied four times for water-quality reasons.Dredging risks stirring [up] decades of toxic sediment. Don’t bring it back. It was denied four times for a reason.”

“If Hochul sides with Trump, she’ll lose Hudson River communities,” Skydell said. “Governor Hochul should be very worried. She needs to stand up to Trump. She needs to fight for our river. She needs to fight against radioactive waste in the river. She needs to fight against fracked gas pipeline expansions. She needs to take our needs seriously. Or she is not going to have a future.”

Andrew, 41, an Australian citizen and father of two, has begun to tag along for these events in lockstep with his wife’s activism. He refrained from giving his last name but made sure to give his reason for being there: “The kids are going to be here a lot longer than us. There’s no good that comes from fossil fuels.” He noted that their 8-year-old is just beginning to understand the issue through family talks, books and these protests. 

Peekskill Councilman Ramon Fernandez had a huge smile as he looked down at the children sitting in front of the crowd, who had been listening in to each speaker. 

“I am more than happy to see the next generation. We are fighting and trying to protect them and the next generation that’s coming after them,” Fernandez said. 

He explained that they are the reason for this protest and they are the reason they will keep protesting. 

“Protect New Yorkers! Not investors!,” Fernandez shouted out. 

Leola Specht, 59, of Food and Water Watch has been fighting fossil fuel expansion for more than a decade. Motivated by her godchildren in Peekskill, she called pipelines “a direct threat to clean air, clean water, and affordable energy.” She said that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates 4–5 years remain for any actions to have meaningful impacts for the future of the global climate. 

When asked about the turnout at the protest, Specht said she “couldn’t be more thrilled because I don’t want to be here, but I’m glad that there are other people who take their beautiful day to be here like me. This isn’t a hobby, it’s our duty.”