New York State Senator Meets Data Center Opponents, Discusses Regulations and Moratorium
State Senator Kristen Gonzalez visited Genesee County, New York, to meet with local officials and opponents of a proposed Stream Data Centers project in the Town of Alabama. She is advocating for stricter regulations on large data centers through her proposed "Responsible Data Center Development Act," which was superseded by Gov. Kathy Hochul's year-long moratorium. The senator also discussed a class-action lawsuit filed against Digi Power X, a cryptocurrency mining facility in Tonawanda.
State Senator Kristen Gonzalez (D-Manhattan) visited Genesee County, New York, to engage with local officials and residents who are opposing a proposed $19.5 billion Stream Data Centers project in the Town of Alabama. Her visit aimed to garner public support for her "Responsible Data Center Development Act," a legislative proposal she has introduced.
This act, designed to implement more stringent regulations on large data centers, successfully passed both houses of the state Legislature earlier this year. However, its immediate implementation was preempted by an executive order from Governor Kathy Hochul, which imposed a year-long moratorium on the construction of "hyperscale" data centers across New York State.
During her visit, Senator Gonzalez also met with Mark Polito, a resident of Tonawanda who initiated a class-action lawsuit in April against Digi Power X, the owner of a local cryptocurrency mining facility. Additionally, she toured the site of the proposed data center within the Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park, accompanied by officials from the Genesee County Economic Development Center, which owns the land.