Data Center & Crypto Mining Ban
A townwide prohibition on data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities in every zoning district — written with no load threshold to game, no way to phase around it, and an express carve-out for the ordinary server rooms that businesses and schools already run.
Across New York, towns are waking up to find a data center proposed next door — a windowless industrial building drawing as much electricity as a small city, running cooling equipment around the clock, consuming millions of gallons of water, and employing a handful of people. As of May 2026, nearly 12 gigawatts of data center load was sitting in New York's grid interconnection queue, with more than eight gigawatts of that added in 2025 alone. The Governor's Executive Order No. 62 acknowledges the strain — and expressly leaves the zoning decision to local governments.
Clarkstown should make that decision before an application lands, not during one. This proposed local law amends Chapter 290 to define data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities and prohibit them in every zoning district in town.
What the law does
Why this proposal is on the table
How it fits the town’s own plan
Why this matters now
There is no application pending — and that is exactly the point. Zoning written while a specific project sits on the table is zoning written under pressure. Settling this now, as general legislation, means Clarkstown’s answer is already on the books the day someone comes asking — decided by the town’s own plan rather than by whoever gets to the counter first.
Common questions
What would the proposed Data Center & Crypto Mining Ban do?
A townwide prohibition on data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities in every zoning district — written with no load threshold to game, no way to phase around it, and an express carve-out for the ordinary server rooms that businesses and schools already run.
Is the Data Center & Crypto Mining Ban in effect in Clarkstown?
No. It is a draft local law published by the Bondar for Clarkstown campaign for public discussion. To take effect it would have to be introduced, noticed for a public hearing and adopted by the Clarkstown Town Board.
Why is a Data Center & Crypto Mining Ban being proposed now?
There is no application pending — and that is exactly the point. Zoning written while a specific project sits on the table is zoning written under pressure. Settling this now, as general legislation, means Clarkstown’s answer is already on the books the day someone comes asking — decided by the town’s own plan rather than by whoever gets to the counter first.
Would the ban affect a business’s or school’s own server room?
No. An Accessory Data Center, an IT installation genuinely incidental to a principal use on the same lot, is expressly exempt, subject to limits on floor area, proportion, and connected electrical load.
Could a developer get around the ban with a small facility or by splitting a project?
No. The prohibition applies with no minimum electrical load, floor area, site area, server count, or hash rate, aggregates contiguous lots under common ownership or control, and applies regardless of phasing or what the project is called in an application.
Doesn’t the State control data center siting?
Executive Order No. 62’s state-permit abeyance expressly does not apply to local government approvals and reaches only facilities at or above 50 megawatts. The zoning decision is Clarkstown’s to make, including for everything below that threshold.
Where can I read the full text of the draft?
The complete draft of the Data Center & Crypto Mining Ban is published as a PDF on this page, and all four of the campaign's proposed laws are collected on the Proposed Laws page.
How do I comment on this proposal?
This is a draft for discussion. If you have expertise in energy, water, or land use — or you simply live near an industrial district — we want to hear from you before this is introduced. Use the feedback form and tell us what we got wrong.