Who We Are
Located on the lower level of 712 Main St. at the Ansonia Center in Buffalo's Theatre District, the NYCLU's Western Regional Office (WRO) serves Allegheny, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties in Western New York.
First established as the "Erie County Civil Liberties Committee" in 1934 with the assistance of ACLU pioneer Roger Baldwin, the WRO has gone through numerous transformations during its nearly 75 years of service to Western New York, first as an independent office of the National ACLU and formerly as a chapter and now a regional office of the NYCLU.
What We Do
Staffed by the Western Regional director with volunteer assistance, the WRO is a leader in defending and promoting the fundamental principles and values embodied in the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution and the New York Constitution for all Western New Yorkers. The WRO and its cooperating attorneys handle requests for assistance and guidance on constitutional questions from throughout the community.
The WRO is also the host of Radio Civil Liberties a weekly broadcast of the NYCLU on local AM station WBBF-AM 1120-"Fiesta Latina".
Printer-friendly VersionA New York State Supreme Court today ruled that Gov. David Paterson’s May memo telling state agencies to recognize the marriages of lesbian and gay couples performed in other states and countries is legal. The decision relied heavily on a landmark New York Civil Liberties Union victory in the case Martinez v. County of Monroe.
In oral arguments today, the American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union urged a federal appeals court to uphold a decision striking down the national security letter (NSL) provision of the Patriot Act.
