Hochul backed data-center ban to satisfy DSA, other far-left Dems during re-election bid: critics

Gov.Kathy Hochul caved to Democrat socialists when she made New York the first state to stop construction of large data centers, critics told The Post.Hochul signed an executive order Tuesday enacting a one-year statewide moratorium on new “hyperscale” data centers that need at least 50 megawatts of power to run — bending the knee to the Democratic Socialists of America, which has made the hubs a big focus of campaigns across the country.DSA chapters in Seattle, Portland and other parts of the US are organizing against data-center developments, claiming they push a Big Tech agenda that includes support for Israel and citing concerns over water consumption and the massive energy needed to operate them.Longtime socialist organizer and Occupy Wall Street vet Astra Taylor declared the anti-data-center push “one of the biggest political opportunities that I’ve personally ever seen” during a June 21 DSA Ecosocialism virtual event, gloating the far-left opposition is “taking this moment by storm.”Albany was the first to buckle in large part because of the far-left’s rising clout on the lobbying and legislative front, said Stu Smith, an analyst for the Manhattan Institute who has studied the DSA’s surging opposition to the centers.“I think it’s silly because there are definitely people in New York City trying to make it the AI capital of the world,” he said.

 “New York is really shooting itself in the foot by [imposing the moratorium].”The pause on new permits conveniently comes with Hochul in the midst of a reelection, as she tries to balance placating far lefties while also satisfying her moderate Dem base, according to critics.Hochul even drew rave reviews from state Sen.Kristen Gonzalez — the card-carrying DSA member who represents parts of Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn, and sponsored the moratorium legislation, called the “Responsible Data Center Development Act.”“Technology should make our lives better, not pollute our water,...