Dear A Little Beacon Blog:

“My name is Fran Caracappa, a resident of East Fishkill for almost 37 years, living in proximity to the site of the proposed 1 Gig data center. The site is in my legislative district - 21- for which I am running for County Legislator.

“As a resident, my concerns are for potential irreparable changes which may lie ahead for all the residents of East Fishkill, not only those residing in District 21 where the hyperscale data center(s) could be located.

“A hyperscale data center has no place in East Fishkill, in a town eager to expand tourism and open spaces as specified in the recently adopted Town’s Comprehensive Plan. Does the town need such a large capacity facility? The electrical grid operator , NY ISO in a joint meeting with Central Hudson on April 8, 2026, informed attendees that new large load customers such as AI computing is driving projected demand higher – at a cost to all of us. Do we have to bear the burden for those well south of us and at what cost?

“I have always acknowledged that the project is not before the Town Planning Board. However, the project is in the Grid Operators active queue assessing its interconnection with Central Hudson and NYSEG. In a load connection memo (May 14, 2026), NY ISO is reviewing project #1738 (1,000 MW) along with a project in IPark #1760 (150MW.) NY ISO is also potentially reviewing the impact of overall capacity for the 2 East Fishkill projects as well as the Orangeburg and Buchanan sites.

“What is the right size of data centers for the environment? We need to understand the impact on our water sources and wetlands, exposure to forever chemicals (PFAS), the 24/7 noise levels and light pollution, the heat generated, use of back up diesel generators when the grid is unstable and the electronic waste as components age out.

“A moratorium is needed to assess the full impact on our environment and health. As someone who holds a master’s in public health, I understand the consequences can be irreparable.

“I am concerned citizen; a moratorium will allow the Town to take the time out that is needed to fully assess the impact of a hyper-scale data center.”