New York data center moratorium gets Hochul’s power-grid defense
Gov. Kathy Hochul told NBC News she paused large data center permits to help towns handle tech companies and protect the power grid.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
3 min read
Gov. Kathy Hochul says the New York data center moratorium was triggered by a rush of tech-company proposals landing in small communities before local officials had the power to bargain for better terms.
In an interview with NBC News’ “Here’s the Scoop,” the Democratic governor said she paused state permitting for new large data centers and ordered state regulators to write new rules because towns had asked Albany for backup.
Hochul said New York does not yet have the same concentration of large data centers as some neighboring states, but applications are stacking up in smaller communities across the state. Local governments, she said, were unsure how to handle the wave.
She told NBC News she first viewed the issue as a local matter, then concluded towns lacked the leverage to secure public benefits or ensure companies either provide their own power or pay more into the grid to cover costs.
Why did New York pause data center permits?
Hochul said the one-year pause is meant to give the state time to set standards for large data centers before more projects move ahead. The moratorium is the first statewide action of its kind in the country, according to NBC News.
Data centers have become a flashpoint as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure grows. According to NBC News, state lawmakers from both parties have pushed data center construction moratoriums, while Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York have supported a federal pause.
Opposition has grown over the past year, with local groups raising concerns about environmental effects and higher electricity bills, NBC News reported. Supporters of data center development say critics are relying on flawed assumptions and argue the projects can bring economic gains to states and towns.
Hochul rejected the idea that New York must accept immediate data center growth to remain competitive in AI. She pointed to recent Wall Street job growth that she said is largely tied to AI and said companies are drawn to New York for talent, innovation and energy.
She said New York can welcome data centers later, but under different rules than the ones in place now. Hochul told NBC News her goal was not to be first, but to get the policy right.
The move has drawn criticism, including from The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board. Hochul responded with her own letter to the paper.
Hochul also said local pressure for pauses is not limited to one party. She cited a recent discussion with a local official from a Republican town on Long Island and pushed back against the idea that the moratorium was political positioning.
Her administration spoke with at least one major AI company before the announcement, Hochul said, though she did not name the company. She said the message was that New York would set rules and expect companies to follow them.
In the same NBC News interview, Hochul also discussed her push to bring the Olympics to New York in 2042, election security and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s early months in office.
On Mamdani’s statement that he lacks authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a New York City visit for the United Nations General Assembly, Hochul said his assessment was correct. She said her focus is on protecting Jewish communities and other sensitive locations, including synagogues, yeshivas and mosques, amid what she described as a spike in hate crimes.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.