AI Data Center Support Drew Boos at Brooklyn Midterm Event

Attendees booed when a moderator asked who supported AI data centers at Newsreel’s “Midterm Mania” event in Brooklyn on Thursday, Oct. 29, five days before the Nov. 3 U.S. general election.

Data centers also came up beyond the scheduled panel, including in a discussion about the Democratic Party’s direction. The event put two related but distinct issues on display: the panel was planned around household electricity bills, while the question that drew boos asked about support for AI data centers generally.

Newsreel’s program scheduled “The Data Center Next Door: AI, data centers, and your electric bill” for 7:45 p.m. ET (23:45 UTC), with researcher Maia Woluchem and advocate Hilary Flint as panelists.

Newsreel founder Jack Brewster said data centers came up in every onstage conversation and ranked second among questions submitted by people who RSVP’d. “AI has become an election issue for regular voters,” Brewster said.

Brewster also described rural concerns as fears of being replaced and the Brooklyn discussion as a question of who would profit from data-center development. The remarks pointed to concerns about job displacement and who receives economic benefits from the buildout.

Local opposition blocked or delayed at least 75 projects valued at about $130 billion from January through March. From April through June, at least 45 projects valued at nearly $68 billion were blocked or delayed. The later period included continued opposition to some projects delayed earlier, so the quarterly figures do not establish a unique first-half total. The dollar amounts are project values, not reported financial losses.

The debate also reaches beyond permits to who pays for new power infrastructure and whether nearby communities receive economic benefits from development.

The Brooklyn event is a local example of a political discussion TokenPost has covered in its reporting on the midterm debate over data-center costs, permitting and oversight. The Nov. 3 midterm elections include all 435 House seats and roughly one-third of Senate seats, contests that could shape policy affecting data-center infrastructure and approvals.