As I type this sentence, Irvington, my neighborhood on the Eastside of Indianapolis, is 82 hours from a critical deadline. It is currently 1:30pm on Tuesday, August 11th. We have until Friday, August 14th at 11:59pm to file our petition for judicial review of the data center proposal that was approved by the Marion County Development Commission (MDC) on July 15th.
Some of my neighbors have little to no knowledge of the proposal. More have heard of data centers and know that there is potential for one to be built near their home, but may not realize how close. Many are still learning about the dangers of data centers and how this one could impact everything about our local environment. How our air quality could worsen, the ground water be put at risk, and that there is a good chance they will be able to hear the constant hum of the cooling mechanisms as they lay trying to fall asleep.
I will confess that I am no expert on data centers. But I have seen and heard enough from those who have been forced to live near them to determine that it is not something I want less than three quarters of a mile from my home. Several months ago, I would have been opposed, but felt powerless to stop it.
So how did I get here?
Until mid-June of this year, I was not particularly active in my community. I was involved with our neighborhood pickleball club and was friendly with many of my neighbors who I had come to know through conversations at the local watering hole, but had always felt a tinge of fear when I thought about going to our neighborhood council meetings or organizing a horror book club (something I’ve had in mind for a long time). When I look back at the New Year’s resolutions I wrote in the front of my 2026 planner, one of the line items reads “Build community and get involved in the neighborhood”. I had put that off for over six months out of a fear of rejection.
“So many neighbors have lived here so much longer than I have. Who am I to tell them how things should be?”
“What if I’m too opinionated and they don’t like me?”
“Do I even have anything to offer that others aren’t already bringing to the table?”
These were the questions that kept me from getting involved. I assumed others knew better than me and wouldn’t need my opinions or efforts.
When I heard that a data center was proposed for my area, I thought other people would handle it. They’d never let that happen to Irvington, would they? But the proposal got past the first couple of hurdles and I became concerned that a data center within walking distance of my front porch was about to become a real possibility. That’s when I decided it was time to get involved.
I went to a sign-making event where I met organizers and volunteers who were normal people who were doing everything they could to fight back. They welcomed me with open arms, eager to share knowledge, connections, and the work load of fighting against a billion-dollar corporation with no regard for our community.
Since that first event, Eastside Community Action (ECA) has attended and protested at MDC and city council meetings, held community forums, tabled at every public event that would have us, and started a door-knocking campaign that aims to knock every door in Irvington by the end of October. We’ve also raised over $10,000 without holding a single fundraiser, allowing us to retain an attorney on an accelerated timeline.
All of this fantastic work has been done by an ad hoc group of neighbors, most of whom were complete strangers before they joined ECA. None are elected officials or sit on any board. Each of us just woke up one day and decided to overcome our fears and volunteer our time and talents in pursuit of a common goal: protecting the place where we live from outsiders who don’t give a damn about it or our families.
As you are reading this, we have probably already filed our petition for judicial review and are planning our first of MANY fundraisers. We’ll need to raise between twenty five and sixty thousand dollars to fund our legal challenge, and I have faith that we will raise that and then some. This fight is now in the hands of a judge whose name none of us know yet. Will they be fair and open-minded, or will they have a decision made before hearing the facts of the case (which objectively lean heavily in our favor) like the MDC clearly did when they gave approval for this in the first place? We can’t know. But we do know that we have done, and will continue to do all that we possibly can to make sure the voices of our community are heard.
Win or lose - and we believe we will win - we will continue to do the work of building people power and community in our neighborhoods, because it is unlikely that this will be the last fight. More grifters will come to town, and we will be ready to go toe to toe with them the next time they do.
What’s Next?
Find our LinkTree HERE, where you can donate to our legal fund, connect with us on social media, or sign up to work with us! We canvass every Saturday from 11:30am - 2pm and would love to have you!
Email us at EastsideCommunityAction@gmail.com for more information, and follow our Facebook page and join the Facebook group to keep up with all our events and updates.
Rex Riddle
Irvington Resident
Eastside Community Action
Previously: Eastside Residents Say NO to Data Center Proposal — guest blog from Marcus Ramey