GUEST EDITORIAL: Assemblyman Joe DeStefano on Data Center Ban

The data center moratorium issue comes down to two fundamental principles: local control and economic opportunity.

I’ve always believed that land-use and zoning decisions belong to local governments—not Albany. Towns and counties know what’s best for their communities, and they should have the authority to decide what development is appropriate within their borders. This is why l voted to keep the state out of this.

We’ve already fought back against Albany’s attempts to usurp local zoning, including efforts to force high-density housing near Long Island railroad stations. I opposed those efforts because I believe in home rule, and I believe the same principle applies here.

That’s why I cannot support giving the state more authority over local land-use decisions through a statewide moratorium. If Brookhaven wants to study the issue and consider its own 18-month moratorium, that’s the town’s right. Local officials, working with local residents, should make those decisions—not the State Legislature. At the same time, I vote on issues affecting all New Yorkers, not just one community.

There are economically challenged areas of upstate New York that are actively seeking data centers because they offer good-paying union construction jobs, permanent employment and significant economic investment.

Those communities have the infrastructure to support these projects and are asking for the opportunity to compete for them. A statewide moratorium would deny them that opportunity, regardless of what their local residents and elected officials want.

Every community is different. Some may determine that data centers are not the right fit. Others may welcome them. That’s exactly why these decisions should remain in the hands of local governments, where they belong—not politicians in Albany.

What I find troubling is hearing people who claim to champion jobs, economic growth and working families advocate for a statewide moratorium that would prevent economically depressed communities from pursuing the very projects they are asking for.

You can’t claim to support job creation while simultaneously blocking opportunities for thousands of good-paying jobs and millions of dollars in private investment in the parts of New York that need them most. That’s not supporting economic development—it’s standing in its way.