The Albany Common Council is officially backing a statewide one-year moratorium on the construction of hyperscale data centers.
The measure passed the New York State Legislature during this year's session, but it is awaiting the signature of Gov. Kathy Hochul.
In a 13-0 vote Monday, the Albany Common Council officially threw its support behind the statewide pause. Councilmember John Williamson abstained from Monday’s vote, and two other members were absent.
Councilmember Deborah Zamer introduced the city’s resolution of support. She said the moratorium gives the state and municipalities time to analyze the effects of data centers and develop effective regulation.
“We need to look at our zoning laws, our regulations; we need to look at environmental impact,” she said.
The Common Council’s vote comes as the owner of the former Kenwood Convent site has announced plans to build a data center there. Zamer said no plans have been submitted to the city, but the proposed data center was on the minds of the 25-or-so protesters who came to support the moratorium.
Bryan Paz-Hernandez, a co-facilitator of No Kings Albany, spoke in favor of the moratorium. He said a large data center would worsen Albany residents' quality of life.
“In data centers that have been built across the country, we see noise pollution that affects people's psychological well-being,” he said. “We've seen tremendous amounts of water being used. We've seen ... electricity costs go up because the local utilities have to build more electricity generation and capacity.”
A spokesperson for Guild Ventures, which owns the Kenwood site, declined to comment.
