Albany, NY — MediaJustice celebrates frontline communities, organizers, environmental justice advocates, and the New York State Fights Data Centers alliance whose tireless advocacy helped pass a statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data center development—and calls on Governor Hochul to immediately sign the bill as a critical first step toward protecting residents across New York from the myriad harms caused by data centers. The one-year pause marks a significant victory in the growing national movement demanding accountability from the AI and tech industries and rejecting the false narrative that unchecked data center expansion is inevitable or needed.
By passing a package of data center bills, including a one-year moratorium, lawmakers have created a critical opportunity to pause unchecked data center development. Now, state legislators and policymakers can enact more robust protections communities have been demanding.
“New Yorkers are proof that organized communities can challenge the unchecked power of Big Tech and win,” said Myaisha Hayes, Senior Movement Building Director at MediaJustice. “For years, residents have sounded the alarm about the impacts of massive data centers on our energy grid, water resources, climate goals, and local communities. But let’s be clear: a one-year moratorium is the floor, not the ceiling. Communities across New York originally called for a three-year pause because the harms associated with hyperscale AI data centers cannot be fully understood or addressed on an accelerated timeline. We reject the idea that New Yorkers must simply accept a future where corporate AI expansion dictates how our resources are used and who bears the costs. The rush to build AI infrastructure is a political choice, not an inevitability.”
“The NY Renews coalition, which represents nearly 400 organizations from across the state, applauds the state legislature for passing the Responsible Data Center Development Act in the final hours of session,” said Ryan Madden, Indigenous Solidarity Director at NY Renews. “It is a massive first step in the fight against the AI data center expansion in NY that threatens our air, water, land, and lives. We have been in solidarity with the Tonawanda Seneca Nation in its fight against a massive data center proposal on the border of its reservation territory, as well as members of the Mohawk Nation in their fight against the expansion of a cryptocurrency operation on the border of its territory. Our fight against the harms of data centers is a fight for Indigenous sovereignty. We will use this victory as a tool in service of these local efforts, among others. We urge Governor Hochul to sign this into law so we can continue developing the critical safeguards we need to prevent a few tech oligarchs from undermining our communities.”
“Our community is facing the threat of a massive 500 MW, 2.2 million square foot data center complex at the STAMP mega industrial site that would harm our way of life,” said Kelly Hallenbeck, resident of Genesee County. “My neighbors and I have come out in powerful opposition to this project since day 1, and yet we continue to see STREAM US Data Centers and their financial backer, the disgraced private equity firm Apollo Global Management, trying to drown out local voices with their billions. I hope this moratorium will give our County and municipal decisionmakers a chance to listen to their constituents, rethink their support, and make decisions that prioritize the needs and well-being of our community above the exploitative profiteering of Big Tech.”
“This is the broadest coalition of community members coming together in opposition of a single issue that I have ever witnessed in my career.” said Christopher Murawski, the Executive Director of The Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, a Buffalo-based environmental justice advocacy organization. “People are very clear. No one wants these data center projects in their communities. On behalf of the overwhelming number of individuals that have joined our movement on this, we urge governor Hochul to immediately sign the one year moratorium and also urge all of our electives to work towards extending the moratorium in the next legislative session.”
In partnership with local NY organizing groups, MediaJustice calls on Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the legislation to ensure these important protections become law. New Yorkers have made it clear that corporate AI expansion should not come before communities. The Governor should listen and act immediately.
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MediaJustice builds power to challenge how corporations and governments use media and technology to shape our collective future. We connect movements fighting corporate control, analyze how tech enables harmful policies, and amplify community-led alternatives to surveillance and extraction.
The Clean Air Coalition of Western New York builds power by developing grassroots leaders who organize their communities to run and win environmental justice and public health campaigns in Erie and Niagara Counties. We envision a world where our environment promotes health and equity and where systems place communities at the forefront of decision making.
NY Renews is a coalition of nearly 400 climate, labor, youth, and community groups, and the force behind the nation’s most progressive climate law. We fight for clean energy, good jobs, and a healthier, more affordable New York. Following the leadership of Indigenous Nations in New York State, NY Renews works to ensure that our fight for a Just Transition is aligned with Indigenous environmental justice, land justice, and sovereignty.
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