Albany, New York – More than 100 labor, faith, community, environmental, and consumer organizations sent a letter today to New York Governor Kathy Hochul calling for greater public participation in the scoping process of the environmental review of data centers in New York. 

The letter was facilitated by the advocacy organization Food & Water Watch and signed by groups including SEIU 1199, the League of Women Voters of New York, Citizen Action of New York, NYPIRG, For the Many, GreenFaith, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Greenpeace, NY Renews, the Long Island Progressive Coalition, the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Earthjustice, and PUSH Buffalo.

The letter reads in part:

“We appreciate your leadership in pressing the pause button on new data centers with your July 14 executive order. Now you must expand the opportunities for New Yorkers to fully weigh in on this critical question: What are the costs and impacts of data centers that should be examined? This information is essential for determining how and how much they threaten our families and our communities.”

The letter comes after Hochul signed an executive order in July implementing a moratorium on large-scale data centers. The current scoping process is the first step in the environmental review called for in the executive order. 

Specifically, the letter sent today calls for a public comment period of at least 120 days and for both in-person and online public hearings. Currently, the deadline for public comments on the draft scope of work is Tuesday, October 20 and the Hochul administration has failed to schedule any public hearings.

“Governor Hochul’s rush to conduct the data center review without heeding the concerns of New Yorkers is troubling. From Long Island to Buffalo, New Yorkers demanded a pause on the costly and dangerous buildout of data centers. Hochul’s administration has proposed a process that fails to provide the time and opportunity for adequate public participation and input. New Yorkers will not stand for Hochul ignoring their concerns about the impacts of data centers on our health, communities, and environment,” said Eric Weltman, a senior organizer with Food & Water Watch.

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