LeRay residents push town board to ban data centers
Residents of Le Ray, New York, gathered to urge their town board to ban data centers due to concerns about water and electricity usage. The town council responded by agreeing to increase a proposed moratorium on data center development to 12 months, following a statewide moratorium passed by Governor Hochul.
Le Ray, New York, residents gathered outside the town office building to protest the development of data centers in the area, urging the town board to implement an outright ban. The protest comes as hundreds of acres in the town are being marketed by a Central New York Real Estate broker as a potential data center site.
Data centers, which house infrastructure for online services and artificial intelligence, are controversial nationwide due to their significant consumption of drinking water and electricity, and their potential impact on local wildlife. Protesters voiced these concerns, bringing signs to Thursday night's town council meeting.
In response to the residents' push, the Le Ray town council agreed to increase a proposed moratorium on data centers to 12 months. This local discussion follows a recent statewide moratorium passed by Governor Hochul, which bars data centers with exceptions for facilities focused on medicine and education. However, Le Ray residents are advocating for a zero-exception, indefinite ban on data center development in their town.