Staley Road ‘Mob’ Targets Brown Resident During Grand Island Zoning, Town Board Meetings

What began as a standard zoning variance request quickly escalated into a tense and possibly biased confrontation as residents of Staley Road turned a series of town proceedings into a campaign of personal attacks against Sumit Majumdar, a longtime energy executive and President & CEO of Buffalo Biodiesel Inc..

During an October 2nd, 2025, Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, Majumdar explained his plans for 3012 Staley Road.

“I’d like to request a variance for the height and size of the storage facility and also an increase in fence height from 3 foot to 6 foot for the front fence,” Majumdar told the board. He explained that he had applied for agricultural district zoning in September, adding, “I have several animals including a disabled dog and I want to increase the fence height from 3 to 6 feet . . . I’m also in the process of getting a rehabilitation license for wildlife. [The storage facility will be used for] the processing and storage of organic garlic that I’ll be cultivating on the property. I’m [also] going to be raising chickens.”

The request was straightforward: a 6-foot fence and an agricultural storage building on a 14.43 acre property that Majumdar bought in 2024 for $1.2 million.

3012 Staley Road owned by Sumit Majumdar

Instead of focusing on the variance itself, and despite Majumdar not yet having moved into the Staley Road property, many neighbors launched attacks on his character, his livelihood, and his company—often repeating false claims.

At the same hearing, Mary Pfalzer of 3013 Staley Road claimed, “A Google search unfortunately led me to his company [Buffalo] Biodiesel being closed by the DEC for failure of keeping permits over the last seven years, and another few articles about 27 customers suing to get out of contract for leaky barrels.” She continued, “I’m concerned that this storage unit is going to end up being for business equipment which could have leaky barrels or whatever. I do not think the intent is really for agricultural or proper storage.”

After conducting the same Google search, Niagara Action found these claims to be false. Buffalo Biodiesel has not been shut down by the DEC, nor are there lawsuits by 27 customers over “leaky barrels.” The company remains a functioning and growing business having just announced this past week a $300 million partnership with Verite Capital Partners and Majumdar’s appointment as Lead Advisor Director of Energy and Limited Partner at the firm.

Yet the accusations kept coming.

Sherry Kern of 2905 Staley Road tied her opposition to her personal distaste for Majumdar’s professional reputation, stating, “After doing some research regarding Buffalo Biodiesel, which this landowner currently owns. . . we are very concerned this warehouse. . . will be used for perhaps collecting or storing used oil – a commercial activity in an R1 zone. His company has been operating illegally for seven years according to the DEC that is why we are here today.”

This is another provable falsehood. Buffalo Biodiesel was not operating “illegally” for the past seven years, but with the permission of the DEC through multiple extensions. In fact, nowhere in a consent order signed on October 3rd between the company and DEC was there any mention of illegal activity, but merely missed deadlines.

Majumdar recently commented the situation in an interview, stating, “We appreciate the DEC’s constructive approach and the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to full environmental compliance and continuous improvement. This process has strengthened our company, clarified regulatory expectations, and positioned us for sustained growth.”

At an October 6th Town Board meeting, Kern went further, openly admitting that neighbors had spied on Majumdar’s property by drone.

“We did have somebody who lives nearby . . . take pictures with a drone,” Kern told the board. She even offered the drone photos to town officials as “evidence.”

The tone of the proceedings became more aggressive as additional speakers took the microphone.

Jim Carlson of 2885 Staley Road suggested – without proof – that Majumdar intended to run chemical processing at his home. “It does result in waste products… I think this situation here, if in fact that building is allowed to be built, it’ll turn into a processing factory and then who knows maybe use those ponds for disposal purposes.” He even made a comment regarding Majumdar’s speech to the board, saying, “I'm speaking into the mic like he did not do very well.”

Ron Schlifke of 3348 Staley Road pointed at Majumdar while calling him “a sketchy individual,” declaring “to let a sketchy individual like this guy come in and dump, you know, just run the risk of having biodiesel disposed back there and stuff, forget it.” He then made a comment – which could only be described as a veiled threat – to the board members, stating, “You know I'm going to hold everybody [accountable] right now. If there's a disaster you know. I mean this guy's got a horrible reputation. Just Google it.” One witness who did not wish to be named in fear of retribution described Schlifke making an aggressive gesture toward Majumdar as he returned to his seat.

Other residents echoed the same rhetoric. Paul Koppmann of 246 Timberlink Drive told the board, “I'm not going to take up your [time], but I do think that a couple of points really you need to consider. Number one is who you're dealing with and their reputation.”

John Gross of 2783 Staley Road said, “The reputation of this gentleman is in question as far as the research we’ve done.”

Ron Fortman of 2944 Staley Road escalated matters further by asking all Staley Road residents opposed to the project to stand up, an act that left Majumdar singled out as more than fifteen people stared him down.

According to a source at Town Hall, Town Supervisor Peter Marston spoke with Majumdar and apologized. He stated that there is no place at a variance meeting for personal attacks and lack of decorum.

The personal assaults against Majumdar stand in stark contrast to his professional record.

Majumdar has spent over two decades in the used cooking oil industry building Buffalo Biodiesel into one of the most recognized names in the field. His expertise has been sought nationally, with frequent contributions to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.

In a Wall Street Journal article dated July 22nd, 2022, Majumdar warned of “gaping loopholes” in renewable fuel credit systems.

Sumit Majumdar

In a Bloomberg article on October 18, 2023, he raised alarms about organized crime in the cooking oil industry, stating that the scale “could no longer be dismissed as petty theft – this is systemic.”

Earlier this month, Buffalo Biodiesel announced that Majumdar had joined Verite Capital Partners as Lead Advisor Director of Energy and Limited Partner. Verite’s founder Don Jones praised him, stating, “Sumit has shown extraordinary resolve and steady leadership while guiding Buffalo Biodiesel through a challenging operational environment. His operational expertise, public-market leadership, community ties in Buffalo, and commitment to sustainable energy give Verite a valuable perspective.”

Majumdar himself emphasized his community commitment in a statement.

“This opportunity strengthens Buffalo Biodiesel’s strategic network and gives us a stronger voice… We remain fully committed to protecting our employees and partners, and continuing to serve our customers.”

During her remarks, Kern brought up the “Make Staley Road Safe Committee,” a group she described as existing “to prevent further negative situations from developing unchecked.”

However, one Staley Road resident who wished not to be named due to fear of being targeted, described this committee as having a “mob mentality.” He told Niagara Action: “I can’t tell you the unbelievable pressure that these people put on other residents and elected officials to get what they want. It’s scary. [Might] as well have been a Salem which trial."

When asked why the "mob" descended upon Majumdar, he responded: "because he's not white."

***Niagara Action makes absolutely no allegation that any speaker referenced above is racist or in any other way discriminated against Majumdar due to the color of his skin.***

The committee’s members appear to have mobilized en masse to oppose Majumdar’s proposed 6-foot fence and agricultural storage building, not only by flooding town meetings with hostile speakers but by surveilling his property and bearing false witness before a municipal board with comments memorialized in the public record.

Opposition faced by Majumdar is reminiscent of the fierce grassroots opposition Grand Island residents mounted against Amazon’s proposed “Project Olive” warehouse in 2020. Then, a broad coalition known as CRED4GI organized petitions, packed town halls, and carried protest signs reading “Amazon, NO!” to stop what they viewed as an inappropriate development on the island. In both cases, residents mobilized aggressively against a project they feared would change the character of their community.

But the Amazon fight was waged against one of the world’s largest corporations in a multimillion-dollar development proposal, while the Staley Road campaign has centered on a single homeowner requesting variances to raise chickens, grow garlic, and rehabilitate animals. The contrast underscores how quickly legitimate civic activism can, in Majumdar’s case, morph into personal attacks and intimidation.

The spectacle raises serious questions about whether the zoning variance process is being distorted by personal vendettas and whether its board members can be impartial given that residents could turn on them next, possibly jeopardizing their position. At the Town Board meeting, even the chair was forced to interrupt Kern when she began repeating statements about lawsuits and Majumdar’s reputation, saying, “Very well, let’s leave that out of the equation, let’s talk about the property.”

The zoning board denied Majumdar’s requests, most parroting comments made by speakers throughout the meeting.

Majumdar, one of the few executives of color in Western New York’s renewable fuels sector, now faces a community that has organized against him before he has even moved into his home.

Niagara Action reached out to Majumdar to ask if he is filing an Article 78 proceeding in Erie County Supreme Court, but he did not respond to our request for comment.

If you would like to watch the Zoning Board meeting, click here: https://youtu.be/dH1SJWd8_50?si=D-_iq_sfmF25sczs

If you would like to watch the Town Board meeting, click here: https://www.youtube.com/live/1uXIf-mKH2w?si=V_dNbw1tERz6d_zx

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Staley Road ‘Mob’ Targets Brown Resident During Zoning, Town Board Meetings