Albany, NY – This morning Governor Hochul will announce the issuance of an executive order that will impose a one-year moratorium on the construction of large-scale data centers in the state.

In response, Food & Water Watch’s New York State Director Laura Shindell issued the following statement: 

“This one-year moratorium is a huge step forward for New York communities fighting against an onslaught of massive data center proposals. It 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.

“This must be only the first step Governor Hochul takes, though. Orangeburg in Rockland County is facing four distinct data center proposals that collectively would reach more than 120 megawatts in scale – but when assessed separately they are only considered 30 megawatts each and therefore excluded from Hochul’s current moratorium.

“While we celebrate New York becoming the first state in the country to enact a data center moratorium, we’ll continue to organize at the grassroots level to build the movement required to fully protect all New Yorkers from data centers’ impacts on people and the environment.”