Data Center Backlash Turns Into a Midterm Issue in Brooklyn

Almost $200 billion worth of data center projects were delayed, halted or rejected in the first half of 2026 because of political and community resistance, according to TechCrunch, citing a report from Data Center Watch. The outlet reported the figure while covering a midterm election gathering in Brooklyn on Thursday evening where data centers became the dominant subject.

The event was organized by Newsreel, a media company started by Jack Brewster, who previously worked at Forbes and Newsweek, according to TechCrunch. Brewster said the aim was for attendees to set their phones aside and discuss the election with one another five days before voting.

TechCrunch reported that the evening's lineup included Kenneth Schlenker, a co-founder of the focus app Opal, who took part in a fireside chat on attention, and Aryan Banjan, who created the campaign management tool Barza, who offered a forecast for the midterms. The outlet's reporter moderated a panel on data centers.

During that panel, the reporter asked the crowd whether anyone supported AI data centers and was met with boos, according to TechCrunch. The discussion featured Maia Woluchem, a researcher on technology and human rights, and Hilary Flint, an advocate on environmental and public health issues.

TechCrunch reported that attendees are frustrated by what they see as quiet arrangements between large technology firms and local officials to construct billion-dollar facilities. The outlet also noted that zoning rules can leave residents unsure what is being built until objecting becomes difficult.

New York City Council member Chi Ossé appeared in a fireside chat shortly before the data center panel, according to TechCrunch. The outlet reported that Ossé said he does not really use AI and focused on wanting technology executives to face greater accountability and on higher taxes for trillionaires such as Elon Musk. He described himself as a democratic socialist with a law and order streak, and said that when chief executives discuss a technology capable of depleting 10% of human civilization, they should be called to testify before Congress, TechCrunch reported.

The outlet reported that Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas, New York and Virginia are weighing additional safeguards and transparency requirements for data center growth. Virginia alone has hundreds of new facilities planned, TechCrunch reported, in a state already known as the data center capital of the world.

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