Asbury Park, Red Bank, Phillipsburg and Neptune are some of the biggest New Jersey towns to ban data centers. There are movements underway in Old Bridge and Sayreville; the Howell town council will vote on a ban next week. The mayor of Cherry Hill vowed they won’t open in town, and Jersey City introduced an ordinance limiting where they can open.
The movement to ban data centers in Bayonne was backed by the Friends of Liberty State Park and state Senator Angela McKnight (D-31), who represents Bayonne.
“This win in Bayonne is a win for everyone in New Jersey,” said Bayonne resident Jennah Reddick, who led the fight. “We showed that the people can fight back and that we’re the ones who have power, not the developers. We came together as a community to fight back against corporate greed, even when we were told it was a losing battle.”
“What we just saw in Bayonne is that there’s a price to pay for officials who side with Big Tech over the people who elected them,” said Ben Dziobek, director of Climate Revolution Action Network (CRAN), the Gen-Z climate advocacy organization leading the push to ban data centers in New Jersey.
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