The Cuddy & Feder Blog.

As of the drafting of this post, there are at least 20 communities throughout New York State with an active moratorium prohibiting or impeding the development of data centers, some of which are barring permits for three-year periods. There are two additional municipalities with pending local laws that would enact a moratorium on data center development and others discussing it. We expect the number of moratoria to grow through concerns stoked through social media and in many cases misinformation on water and power consumption and conservation measures at data center sites. A local moratorium is an extraordinary planning tool often weaponized for the wrong reasons. Temporary land use moratoria are intended to preserve the status quo while planning or zoning changes are studied and made. However, few municipalities are actually spending the time, energy, and resources to follow through on legitimate planning and zoning objectives; which begs the question – are these moratoria legal or simply community pressured bans adopted by elected officials that would not withstand judicial scrutiny? Read More >

As previously reported, New York State adopted its All-Electric Buildings Law in 2024, which added requirements to the NYS Energy Law for new construction. That new law prohibited the installation of fossil-fuel burning equipment in building systems in any new buildings seven stories or less in height. Read More >

New York State’s goal of zero on-site greenhouse gas emissions is driving big changes in new building construction. The State is phasing out fossil-fuel equipment for most new buildings as part of its clean energy and climate agenda. The policy and regulations affecting developers are outlined below. Read More >