Data centers have become an increasingly contentious issue across New Jersey, but for residents in one town, the debate has now landed much closer to home. Locals in Secaucus are pushing back after Mayor Michael Gonnelli published a message defending the facilities and arguing that they benefit the community, prompting a heated discussion about what their continued growth could mean for the people who actually live there.
The message, which was shared on Reddit by a Secaucus resident who said it appeared in the town newsletter, lays out Gonnelli’s case for why data centers are “good for our town.” The mayor points to the significant tax revenue they generate while arguing that the facilities require relatively little from local services, before making his position particularly clear: “Whether we like it or not, data centers are here to stay.”
The debate extends far beyond Secaucus. Data centers have become an increasingly contentious issue across the country as the rapid growth of AI drives demand for enormous amounts of computing power, with communities raising concerns about everything from electricity costs and water use to noise and the strain placed on local infrastructure. At the same time, supporters argue that the facilities can bring substantial investment and tax revenue into the communities where they are built.
According to a recent Reuters report, the rapid expansion of data centers is already having a major impact on electricity markets across the country. PJM Interconnection, which operates the regional power grid that includes New Jersey, has attributed a $29.4 billion increase in capacity costs to data center growth, while soaring requests for electricity from proposed facilities have prompted regulators in several states to introduce new rules and safeguards.
Gonnelli addresses some of those concerns directly in his message, arguing that Secaucus residents would still be affected by rising electricity demand even if data centers were built elsewhere within the wider PJM region. He also points to the facilities already operating in town and maintains that their tax contributions help fund community programs, making the case that Secaucus benefits financially from having them close to home.
For some Secaucus residents, however, those arguments have done little to ease concerns about what the continued growth of data centers could mean for their community.
New Jersey Locals Push Back on Mayor’s Data Center Message
The reaction from New Jersey residents was swift, with many taking issue with Gonnelli’s defense of the facilities. Much of the frustration centered on whether the mayor was drawing a fair comparison between the data centers Secaucus has hosted for years and the newer facilities being built amid the AI boom. One commenter argued, “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. An AWS warehouse full of hard drives is NOT the same thing as what people are currently rejecting under the name ‘data centers.’”
Others didn’t mince their words. Responding directly to Gonnelli’s insistence that data centers are here to stay, one person fired back, “‘Like it or not they are here to stay.’ No, they aren’t.” Another turned the mayor’s argument back on him, writing, “Build them next door to his home. He won’t mind.”
The frustration also prompted calls for residents to take action rather than simply vent online. “Find like-minded people in your town. Get them to sign a petition. Show up at town meetings and speak up. Make him explain his point,”one commenter urged.
Not everyone shared the outrage, however. 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.” Even they acknowledged, however, “Yes, he didn’t do a good job clarifying it…”
For Secaucus residents, the debate ultimately comes down to what continued data center growth will mean for the community they call home. Gonnelli maintains that the facilities bring valuable tax revenue into town without placing a major burden on local services, but the reaction to his message shows that not everyone is convinced. With concerns over electricity demand, infrastructure, and the rapid expansion of AI continuing far beyond New Jersey, residents are making it clear they want a say in what comes next.
