‘Good for Our Town’: New Jersey Locals Erupt Over Mayor’s Data Center Support. He Says They’re “Here To Stay”

Data centers are becoming harder to ignore as the AI boom brings more concerns about electricity use and costs. Those concerns are already showing up across New Jersey, but one mayor believes his town has good reasons to keep data centers around.  

Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli recently defended the facilities in his “Mayor’s Corner” message. While the growing backlash has even led to efforts to stop new data centers elsewhere, Gonnelli is taking a very different position on what they mean for his town.  

According to The Nerd Stash, the message gained attention after a Secaucus resident shared it on Reddit. Gonnelli starts with a direct statement: “Whether we like it or not, data centers are here to stay.” He then makes the case for why they are “good for our Town,” but some people weren’t buying his argument.

That Didn’t Convince Everyone

Gonnelli argues that data centers have become a necessary part of everyday life. He compares them to grocery stores and gas stations, pointing to online banking, healthcare, shopping, video calls, and navigation. “Our lives have become digital,” he writes.

He also stresses that data centers aren’t new to Secaucus. According to the mayor, the town has been part of the industry for more than three decades because of its location near New York City, access to transatlantic data cables, and available warehouse space. “While the focus on data centers is new, the presence of data centers in Town is not,” he writes.

the mayor of my town just put this nice message about how nice data centers are in the town newsletter which I think is sent to every resident. genuine question – what can i do about this?
byu/MattGoode_ innewjersey

Gonnelli also addresses concerns about electricity costs. Secaucus is part of PJM Interconnection, a regional power grid that covers New Jersey and several other states. He argues that residents could still feel the impact of data center demand even if the facilities were built elsewhere in the PJM region.

That wider demand is already affecting electricity markets. According to Reuters, data center growth has contributed to a $29.4 billion increase in capacity costs across PJM in recent auctions.

Still, Gonnelli believes Secaucus benefits from hosting the facilities. He describes data centers as a “high tax ratable” while arguing that they put relatively little pressure on local services. They don’t increase school enrollment, create much additional traffic, and their contributions help support community programs, according to the mayor.

He also points to legislation signed by New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill in July that calls for a separate rate structure for large-load data centers. The measure is intended to keep infrastructure costs tied to their electricity needs from being passed on to residential customers.

But some people questioned whether Gonnelli was comparing very different types of facilities. One commenter argued that older server farms shouldn’t be treated the same as newer, more computing-intensive data centers being developed for AI.

“He’s completely missing the difference between the server farms that have been around for decades now and the process-intensive data centers being speculatively built to sell more AI ‘compute’ space,” the commenter wrote.

Others pushed back against Gonnelli’s “here to stay” statement. “‘Like it or not they are here to stay.’ No, they aren’t,” one person responded. Another wrote, “Build them next door to his home. He won’t mind.”

Not everyone disagreed. One commenter pointed to Secaucus’ long history with the facilities, writing, “Secaucus has had ‘data centers’ as long as I have been in IT. it’s a perfect location for them, and where they are primarily located is pretty much useless for other things. They have been called data centers forever.” Still, the commenter acknowledged, “Yes, he didn’t do a good job clarifying it…”

The disagreement ultimately comes down to whether Secaucus’ long history with data centers is enough to ease current concerns. With the AI boom driving demand for more powerful facilities, some residents are questioning what that growth could bring next. 

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]