WASHINGTON, D.C. – THE MORATORIUM ON BUILDING DATA CENTERS that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed on Tuesday has received praise from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and the state director of Food and Water Watch.
Gillibrand’s statement reads, “I applaud Hochul for taking decisive action on data center construction. Today’s executive order sends a clear message New Yorkers deserve a say in how this technology impacts their lives and communities.”
“This one-year moratorium is fundamentally about trust,” the statement continued. “Right now, New Yorkers aren’t convinced these massive facilities benefit them. Before we move forward, our communities need ironclad guarantees that their energy bills won’t spike, their water will be protected, and their air will remain clean.”
Food & Water Watch’s New York State Director Laura Shindell said in a prepared statement that the moratorium “comes as the direct result of immense public pressure from people across the state demanding their elected leaders protect them from Big Tech’s assault, which threatens the state’s clean air and water and New Yorkers’ financial security.”
Shindell observed that because data centers that reach only 30 megawatts individually are excluded from the moratorium, a group of them in the vicinity would still be exempted. She pledged to continue her organization’s grassroots efforts to protect New Yorkers from the proliferation of data centers.
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