{"id":295513,"date":"2026-07-14T15:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/295513\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T15:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:22:10","slug":"hochul-signs-order-blocking-new-giant-data-centers-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/295513\/","title":{"rendered":"Hochul signs order blocking new giant data centers in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov. Hochul signed an executive order Tuesday that blocks construction of new large data centers<\/a> for up to a year as New York moves to protect the environment and electric grid from the resource-gobbling facilities that power artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

The order is the nation\u2019s first statewide moratorium on the controversial sprawling data centers<\/a>, which house thousands of computer servers and require massive amounts of energy and a steady supply of water to keep cool.<\/p>\n

\u201cProgress shouldn\u2019t arrive with a higher utility bill,\u201d Hochul said at an announcement on the Brooklyn waterfront. \u201cWe have no choice but to address the problems raised by these new facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese places should only be built in places that want them,\u201d the governor added. \u201cThey should always put the needs of local communities first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hochul\u2019s move halts all state permits for new large data centers<\/a> and orders regulators to create standards that address environmental impacts, energy demand, water usage and other factors.<\/p>\n

She said new rules would require data center operators to fund their own sources of power and water<\/a>, or tap into the existing the grid by paying a higher price than existing users. They would also bar tax breaks for AI data centers and union labor.<\/p>\n

Hochul insisted that the Empire State will remain a magnet for tech investment and innovation.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople aren\u2019t afraid of technology, they\u2019re afraid of being left behind by it,\u201d Hochul said.<\/p>\n

Many voters oppose the centers<\/a> because they believe they increase demand for resources like electricity and water, hiking rates for consumers.<\/p>\n

Big Tech and some proponents counter that data centers create jobs<\/a> in the communities where they are built and are needed to counter geopolitical rivals like China in a global race to lead in the fast-growing AI industry.<\/p>\n

Hochul\u2019s move suggests Democrats will seek to leverage the issue to boost her reelection campaign<\/a> and some midterm congressional races this fall, as the party seek to focus on affordability issues in New York and nationwide.<\/p>\n

Her Republican opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, opposes a statewide moratorium<\/a> on data centers, saying local governments should be free to strike deals with tech companies that promise enough economic benefits.<\/p>\n

State lawmakers approved their own moratorium bill, but Hochul\u2019s office says the measure is flawed and would delay any action, whereas the executive order would take effect immediately once signed.<\/p>\n

With News Wire Services<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gov. Hochul signed an executive order Tuesday that blocks construction of new large data centers for up to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3250,66,2053,10881,426,20196,9,11,10],"class_list":["post-295513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-data-centers","tag-democratic","tag-kathy-hochul","tag-midterms","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}