In May 2025, the Kenilworth Planning Board unanimously approved a $1.8 billion CoreWeave AI data center on the former Merck campus in their tiny two-square-mile borough of 8,500 people. There was no public opposition at that meeting — because most residents had no idea it was happening.

By the time information about the facility spread on social media this spring, construction was already underway.

When fully operational, the facility will consume up to 250 megawatts of power — enough electricity to power 200,000 homes. It will draw significant amounts of water from a region where residents are already concerned about supply. It sits near the borders of Union, Roselle Park, Cranford, Springfield, and Westfield — communities that will bear the impacts of this facility but had no voice in its approval.

"They're gonna get $1.8 billion from this project. We're not gonna get anything besides less clean water for us, less drinking water, more pollution. That's all we're getting," said a 22-year-old resident who lives 200 feet from the construction site.

Over 100 residents packed Kenilworth's borough hall for a council meeting.  CoreWeave's major customers include Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI. The company will make $1.8 billion. The community gets noise, water strain, and energy demand.

This is not how democracy is supposed to work. A single borough's planning board should not be able to approve a regional infrastructure project of this scale without meaningful input from every community that will feel its effects.

We're calling on New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill and the New Jersey Legislature to immediately halt construction of the CoreWeave Kenilworth data center pending a full regional environmental and community impact review.