Tech group EKG Group LLC is proposing a massive artificial intelligence data center on Kenwood Ave, on the grounds of Doane Stuart’s chapel that burned down in 2023. 

This data center would be using the same amount of electricity needed to power almost 200,000 homes. 

Other regions nationally have seen detrimental impacts of these data centers, which cause water pollution and extreme decreases in water pressure in nearby neighborhoods, making them nearly uninhabitable. Another major issue is noise pollution from these massive computers, which has proven to be disruptive to humans and all other living things. In major cases, entire communities have been forced to abandon their homes and relocate.

In 2021 alone, a data center owned by Google in Oregon used 355 MILLION gallons of clean water, this water is usually extracted from local water sources. These mega computers are responsible for generating considerable amounts of nitrous oxide, ranging from 200 to 600 times the amount of what is produced by other energy plants. 

This data center project claims to create new jobs, but why at the expense of the entire city and possibly the county as a whole? Who is the data center ACTUALLY benefiting?

Data centers like this proposed Kenwood facility are created and run at the expense of underserved populations, in predominantly low-income and Black neighborhoods, which is a deliberate act of discrimination. You should care about your Albany neighbors!

SOURCES:

1. https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/kenwood-commons-owner-asks-for-180mw-as-part-of-propertys-pitch-now-includes-data-center-doane-stuart-school-guild-datacenter-mixeduse-hyperscale-colocation-technology-sustainability-cooling-grid-redevelopment-nanotech-infrastructure-emissions
2. https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2025/10/02/construction-and-consequences-the-human-impacts-of-artificial-intelligence-data-centers/
3. https://time.com/7308925/elon-musk-memphis-ai-data-center
4. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/technology/meta-data-center-water.html
5. https://www.voronoiapp.com/technology/-How-Much-Water-Do-Googles-Data-Centers-Consume-Every-Year-2225
6. https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2026-04-28/living-in-hell-data-center-neighbors-grapple-with-noise-air-pollution

Banner images from https://www.albany.org/about/ and https://cleanwater.org/2025/11/26/michigans-ai-data-center-boom-residents-deserve-full-story

No AI was used to write or create this petition.