08/06/2026
Rockland County legislators joined residents, environmental advocates and state lawmakers Tuesday at the Pearl River Little League fields to urge Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฐ๐, legislation that would establish a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers while New York evaluates their long-term impacts on electricity demand, water resources, the environment and local communities.
The gathering came days after the ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐น, which passed the State Legislature in June. The legislation would also pause the proposed expansion of the DataBank facility in Orangeburg, already home to four data centers. Assemblyman Patrick Carroll, a co-sponsor of the bill, attended the event.
โAs one of Orangetownโs proud county legislators, I stand with my constituents in calling on Governor Hochul to sign the Responsible Data Center Development Act,โ said resolution sponsor ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ. ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ ๐. ๐ฆ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ (๐-๐ข๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ป). โBefore approving additional large-scale data center projects, we have a responsibility to fully understand their impacts on our electric grid, water supply, environment and taxpayers. I urge Governor Hochul to sign this first-of-its-kind legislation into law.โ
๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ต ๐. ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ผ๐ป (๐-๐ก๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ, ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐๐๐ผ๐๐ป) said Gov. Hochulโs recent executive order pausing certain large-scale data center projects would not affect the proposed DataBank expansion in Orangeburg. She said the legislation would provide stronger protections for communities by allowing the state to fully assess the cumulative impacts of data center development before additional projects move forward.
โThe state bill would protect Rockland County from the rapid expansion we've seen in data centers - not to mention the growing ecosystem of surveillance threatening our civil liberties - and I hope the governor will sign it,โ Legislator Davidson said.
๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ (๐-๐ฆ๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป, ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐) noted that the issue extends beyond Orangetown and has implications for communities throughout New York that rely on reliable infrastructure and affordable energy.
๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐น๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐. ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐น said besides a one-year moratorium, the state bill would create a separate utility classification for data centers, and require additional study before further expansion.
โWhile Governor Hochul recently signed an executive order to hold data centers accountable, it does not go as far as our legislation,โ Assemblyman Carroll said.
๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐น๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป ๐ช๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ is also in support of the measure.
โThis vote was never about standing in the way of technology or economic growth,โ Assemblyman Wieder said. โIt was about giving New York the opportunity to better understand the long-term impact of large-scale data centers on our energy grid, our environment, and our communities before moving forward.โ
Representatives of the ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐๐น๐๐ฏโ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฑ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฝ and ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ & ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต also urged the Governor to sign the bill, citing concerns about energy demand, environmental impacts, utility costs and the need for stronger statewide oversight of future data center development.
