Rockland County Legislature Urges Governor Hochul to Sign Data Center Moratorium Bill

Rockland County legislators, activists and residents gathered at the Pearl River Little League fields in Orangeburg, New York, to press Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the Responsible Data Center Development Act. The bill would impose a one‑year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, targeting the proposed expansion of the DataBank facility in Orangeburg, which already hosts four data centers.

The county became the first in New York to adopt a resolution supporting the state legislation, citing concerns over grid instability, noise pollution and environmental damage. Organizer Melissa Hoffmann of Food & Water Watch said, "Thank you to the Rockland County Legislature for passing a resolution to urge Governor Hochul to sign a bill that would protect Rockland residents from grid instability, noise pollution, and environmental destruction caused by data centers."

Local leaders are also urging neighboring Orangetown to follow Rockland’s lead and halt DataBank’s Phase 2 application.