BATAVIA, N.Y. — New York State Senator Kristen Gonzalez was at Eden Cafe Batavia Sunday. She heard people’s concerns over the proposed stream data center for the stamp site in Genesee County.
News10NBC’s Declan Stablow was at the cafe, where people raised concerns about noise and light pollution, environmental impact and who will pay the energy costs. Gonzalez is currently touring communities where data centers have been built or proposed.
People near the Block Fusion data center in northeast Buffalo can hear it constantly, Gonzalez said. Some people are worried about how much water the center will use and whether that will increase utility costs.
Members of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation are concerned about damage the center might do to wildlife. Gonzalez also spoke with supporters of the data center who are worried Gov. Kathy Hochul’s moratorium on data centers will cost jobs.
“They talk about the economic benefit of this data center, but what I’m concerned about is the costs, the environmental costs, the spiritual costs, the social costs, and as I’ve said before, those do not fit neatly in an Excel spreadsheet,” said Terry Abrams.
“This supplies tens of thousands of jobs and this is backbreaking work,” another person said. “These are people who rely on this to put food on the table. To kill a project like it was killed at STAMP, it’s devastating, it’s devastating.”
Gonzalez said she believes those jobs will still be there when the moratorium expires next year. She wants Hochul to sign a bill she says would promote responsible data center construction.
The bill already passed both chambers of the state legislature with bipartisan support. Gonzalez will be in Dresden on Monday.
We’ve reached out to the Genesee County Economic Development Center for comment on the issues people raised and for an update on where the project stands now that the moratorium is in effect. We haven’t heard back.
To learn more about Gonzalez’s tour, click here.
RELATED STORIES:
For Related Stories: data centers Genesee County