Governor Kathy Hochul said Wednesday that New York will pause state environmental permitting for large data centers — the facilities driving the current AI boom — for up to one year while officials craft new rules.
Speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Hochul said the pause is intended to protect communities, the energy grid and water supplies as the state develops a regulatory framework. She described the sites as “huge hyperscale AI data centers” that use large amounts of power and water, produce noise, and create relatively few long-term jobs after construction.
Hochul said New York is not “anti-AI,” but that the state needs time to “get it right” and to ensure local ratepayers are not left subsidizing projects that rely on the grid. She repeated her prior position that companies should either bring their own power source or pay a premium to tap into New York’s grid.
The governor also said the state has begun work on workforce issues tied to AI. She noted the first meeting of her Future Works commission last week, convened to identify strategies to help workers displaced by AI and to keep young people included in the technology economy.
The remarks and a rush transcript were distributed by the governor’s press office following the Morning Joe appearance. The release indicated audio of the interview is available, but did not include a link or the executive order number in the materials provided.
