Lawmakers, Advocates and Alarmed New Yorkers Rally for Data Center Moratorium Bill

State lawmakers, advocacy groups, and over 100 New Yorkers rallied at the Capitol, calling for the urgent passage of S.9144/A.10141, a bill that would impose a three-year moratorium on new hyperscale data center construction in the state. The rally was followed by lobby meetings with 50 legislative offices to discuss the bill's importance. Introduced by State Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember Anna Kelles, with Senator Kristen Gonzalez as co-prime sponsor, the legislation aims to create a temporary pause. This period would allow the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Public Service Commission (PSC) to complete comprehensive reports on data centers' effects on electricity usage, rates, water resources, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and electronic waste. The agencies would then issue new regulations to mitigate negative impacts. Advocates, including Eric Weltman of Food & Water Watch and Roger Downs of Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, emphasized that unchecked data center expansion threatens to increase energy costs, strain water resources, drive fossil fuel consumption, and create noise pollution. They argued that a moratorium is crucial for developing smart policy solutions and protecting communities and ratepayers. More than 150 community, consumer, environmental, and faith organizations across New York have expressed support for the bill, highlighting the need to safeguard residents from the economic and environmental burdens of rapid data center growth.