Residents urge borough to press Orangetown on proposed data‑center project; council considers resolution

Several residents and the borough's environmental commission urged the mayor and council to monitor and, if necessary, oppose a proposed large data center in neighboring Orangetown close to the Old Tappan border. Speakers described potential impacts including sustained equipment noise, extensive power demands and tree removal, and asked whether the borough could request updated traffic or stormwater studies and control how developer mitigation dollars are allocated.

Mayor Thomas Gallagher said he would attend Orangetown planning meetings where appropriate and asked the borough attorney to prepare a draft resolution outlining residents' objections and suggested mitigations. "We're all one big community — you can certainly go and tell them that," the mayor said, offering to appear at planning sessions in support of affected residents. Environmental‑commission members requested that any tree‑mitigation funds be used for local beautification and shade‑tree replacement and asked whether stormwater and traffic studies should be revisited in light of more recent data.