‘Good for Our Town’: New Jersey residents are sounding the alarm over data centers. Mayor says they’re ‘here to stay’

A New Jersey mayor’s unusual message about data centers has traveled well beyond his town’s borders. The issue has a long history in Secaucus and now sits at the center of a much larger nationwide argument over what these facilities cost the towns that host them.

A copy of the piece, titled “Mayor’s Corner,” was shared on Reddit by user MattGoode_, and makes the case for why data centers are “good for our Town.” “Whether we like it or not, data centers are here to stay,” Gonnelli wrote, calling them “as important as grocery stores and gas stations” and “the backbone of everything we do digitally.”

He also pointed to Secaucus’ history in the industry, noting “Secaucus has been a crucial part of the data center industry for more than 3 decades.” “While the focus on data centers is new, the presence of data centers in Town is not,” he added.

The fight over data centers goes beyond Secaucus

The argument stretches well beyond Secaucus. As of early September, communities across the country have been pushing back on data center construction over electricity costs, water use, and strain on local infrastructure.

The concerns over electricity are already reflected in PJM’s capacity costs. Per Utility Dive, existing and forecast data center load growth resulted in a combined $29.4 billion increase in capacity market revenues across PJM’s last four auctions, according to the grid’s independent market monitor.

Gonnelli addresses this directly, describing PJM’s footprint as spanning “13 states and District of Columbia” and arguing “a data center located anywhere in the 13 states of PJM’s service area will have the same impact as if it were in Secaucus.” He also pointed to a July 7, 2026 law signed by Gov. Mikie Sherrill requiring a separate electric rate for large-load data centers.

Not everyone in the comments was buying it. One commenter argued the mayor was glossing over a real distinction: “He’s completely missing the difference between the server farms that have been around for decades now and the process-intensive data centers being speculatively built to sell more AI ‘compute’ space.” That distinction has come up elsewhere in the state too, including in a nearby town where a resident recently asked who’s actually benefiting from a newly built AI plant.

A reply called AI hyperscale centers “a different category entirely” from older facilities, wondering “if this guy is just clueless or has some fat campaign checks coming in.”

Not every reply sided against Gonnelli, though. One commenter argued Secaucus has been misunderstood, noting the town “has had ‘data centers’ as long as I have been in IT,” while still conceding the mayor “didn’t do a good job clarifying it.”

Gonnelli closed his piece by saying he’s open to hearing more from residents, “feel free to call or email me any time.” That hasn’t settled the disagreement over whether Secaucus is dealing with the same kind of data centers it always has.