Spectrum News: Hochul’s order of a data center moratorium draws mixed reactions from N.Y.

July 15th, 2026

BY Noah Love New York State, Jul. 15, 2026

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Gov. Kathy Hochul’s statewide moratorium on new data center permits is drawing mixed reactions.

The executive order, issued Tuesday, halts new state environmental permits for data centers as officials develop statewide rules addressing energy use, water consumption and protections for surrounding communities. The divide is playing out clearly around a proposed data center project at the Kenwood site in Albany’s South End.

For months, the project, led by developer Guild Ventures, has been the subject of meetings and negotiations between the company and community organizations concerned about its potential impact.

Eva Bass, of the South End Community Collaborative, welcomed the pause.

“I was happy about the moratorium,” Bass said. “It gives more room for community conversation and engagement.

Community groups including the Reimagine Albany Coalition and the South End Community Collaborative have pressed data center developers on issues such as water use, air quality and rising utility costs for nearby residents.

“We have to make sure that our community is safeguarded first,” Bass said.

Arlene Way, of the Reimagine Albany Coalition, said the moratorium is a step in the right direction but shouldn’t be the last one.

“I think that more work needs to be done so that we know what is going on and that we have some guardrails to protect us,” Way said.

Not everyone views the pause as a positive development. Justin Wilcox, executive director of Upstate United, a business advocacy group, said the moratorium could undercut the state’s ambitions in artificial intelligence.

“The governor wants New York state to be a leader in AI,” Wilcox said. “Unfortunately with these kinds of policies, I don’t know how that can happen. You need data centers if you want to be at the forefront of AI.”

Wilcox said the moratorium risks pushing major investment — and jobs — to other states.

“We’re going to see some of those jobs in AI go to states that are welcoming the technology,” he said. “Those very sectors that we’re trying to invest in, we’re actually harming them with this type of moratorium.”

Under the order, state regulators have up to a year to develop new rules governing energy and water use and community protections tied to data center development. For neighborhoods like the South End, that means additional time at the negotiating table before the Kenwood project — or any other data center proposal — can move forward.

“There has to be an absolute commitment to transparency, and the communities need to have some sort of voice in what is going on,” Way said.

In a statement, Guild Ventures director Michael-Henry Elghanian-Krayem said, “We are still reviewing the Governor’s action. She is right, however, to want the data center industry properly regulated for the benefit of the environment and of New Yorkers. From the outset, we designed Kenwood to be a project others could model themselves on, one that treats responsibility to the community as a starting condition rather than an afterthought, with no air impacts, limited water use, and protections for ratepayers. We believe that standard is not a constraint, but the reason projects like this succeed, and the Governor’s action may well move the rest of the industry toward a similar level of responsibility. We look forward to continuing our engagement with the community, city officials, and regulators over the coming months, and to making Kenwood a model for responsible development in New York and beyond.”