DeStefano Voted No on Protecting Your Water and Utility Bills

This is a paid post contributed by a Patch Community Partner. The views expressed in this post are the author's own, and the information presented has not been verified by Patch.

A $1 billion data center was proposed in Yaphank. On June 4, 2026, Albany voted on legislation to make data centers pay for their own power, protect our water and use local union workers on the job.

Subscribe

The bill passed 103 to 38. Ten Republicans voted yes. Assemblyman DeStefano was not one of them.

He voted against making data centers pay their own way

Data centers use enormous amounts of electricity. The bill, A11560, would have put them in their own rate class, so the cost of the new power lines and infrastructure they need lands on the data centers, not on your bill. It would also have barred increases to other customers' fixed charges. When you open your utility bill this winter, remember he had the chance to put those protections in state law and passed on doing so.

He voted against protecting our water

Long Island's drinking water comes from the aquifer beneath our feet. The bill would have required large data centers to pay for measures that prevent water pollution, wastewater strain and water scarcity in the communities that host them. It would also have required a public hearing in the host community before a permit could be issued. Joe voted No on protecting our drinking water.

He voted against the labor standards he says he cares about

DeStefano defends his vote by pointing to union construction jobs. But the bill he rejected required prevailing wages, apprenticeships to train local workers and the use of American-made steel. He cited good jobs as his reason for voting against the bill that would have required good jobs.

"Local control" doesn't hold up

DeStefano says Brookhaven can handle this on its own. The town passed a pause, and it deserves credit. But a town board doesn't set utility rates or write state water protections. Those are decided in Albany, and DeStefano voted against protecting our wallets and our water.

A pause isn't full protection

Governor Hochul has not yet signed the Assembly's bill. Instead, she issued an executive order pausing state permits for the largest data centers, and Brookhaven passed its own 18-month moratorium. Those actions put the Yaphank project on hold – for now.

But that moratorium will eventually come to an end – and the rules on rates, water, hearings and good-paying jobs are not law. Wildflower, the developer of the Yaphank project, meanwhile, has said restrictions on data centers aren't necessary, and that this data center doesn't carry the same risk as others. So without action in Albany, residents will, in just 15 months' time, face a $1 billion project drawing 176 megawatts all on their own. Joe DeStefano couldn't even bring himself to vote for preventing utility rate hikes for consumers, or protecting water quality and labor standards. How can we expect him to fight to make sure those protections become law?

This November, send someone to Albany who will fight for you, not roll over for Big Tech.

This post is an advertorial piece contributed by a Patch Community Partner, a local brand partner. To learn more, click here.