Brookhaven moves toward moratorium on AI data centers in western Suffolk

Brookhaven moved closer to an 18-month moratorium on AI data centers, a step that could determine how much of western Suffolk gets tied up in a fight over electricity demand, water use and large-scale development.

Town Supervisor Dan Panico proposed the pause in late May, and the Brookhaven Town Board unanimously voted to hold a public hearing on July 16, 2026. Panico said there are no pending data-center applications before the town now, but any future proposal would still face public input and environmental review.

The debate sharpened after an AI-generated flyer falsely claimed Brookhaven was about to vote on a proposed data center, fueling concern about the electric grid, the environment and the drinking-water supply. At the town meeting, residents warned the facilities could raise electric bills, consume large amounts of water for cooling, create noise and pollution, and add pressure to Long Island’s already strained infrastructure.

Panico said the town’s Industrial Development Agency and Planning Board have been instructed to refuse AI data-center proposals while officials study the issue. He also said an entity has been working with the Long Island Power Authority and the New York Independent System Operator on possible future power needs tied to warehouse properties in Yaphank, though NYISO told News 12 it had no information about the project being discussed publicly. That detail has turned the issue from a zoning question into a broader test of who gets to shape the next wave of development in Brookhaven.

The moratorium would not ban data centers outright. Instead, it would give Brookhaven time to examine zoning, environmental impacts, water demand, grid capacity and possible tax benefits before approving projects that could lock in decades of consequences. For property owners, developers and potential tenants, the facilities could mean significant long-term revenue. For nearby neighborhoods, the immediate burdens could include higher utility costs, heavier power demand, land-use changes and the possibility of industrial-scale operations sitting next to homes and warehouses.

The town’s move also echoes a wider Long Island debate. In Albany, New York State Senate bill S9144A would impose a moratorium on permits for new data centers and direct regulators to minimize electricity and gas rate impacts, including on Long Island. In Brookhaven, that larger policy clash now has a local deadline: a July hearing that may set the terms for every future data-center proposal in western Suffolk.