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Hempstead adopts temporary moratorium on battery energy storage facilities after public hearing

Town Board of the Town of Hempstead · January 13, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

After a public hearing with multiple speakers and a noted letter from Long Beach, the Town Board adopted a temporary moratorium on battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities and said it is awaiting a finalized environmental report from Nelson & Pope Engineering.

The Town Board held a public hearing on a proposed temporary moratorium on Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facilities and subsequently adopted the measure on Jan. 13, 2026.

Town Attorney John Maccarone told the clerk the board received a letter from the City of Long Beach urging extension of a moratorium. The hearing drew a number of appearances, including Linda Del Gaudio, Randal Sorscher, Stacey Richardson, Harvey Miller, Nancy Fleming, Doug Augenthler, Vincenzo Suraci, Tanni Palmeri, Christa Kramer, Tim Kramer, Joan Matthews, Lynn Krug and Meta J. Mereday. Supervisor John Ferretti said the board is "waiting for a finalized Environmental Report from Nelson & Pope Engineering, Architecture and Land Surveying, PLLC" and emphasized the board is "cognizant of the very serious risks of these facilities" and will weigh those risks heavily when deciding.

The board closed the hearing and adopted Local Law No. 9-2026 pursuant to Resolution No. 11-2026. The transcript indicates the board intends to factor the final environmental report into its ultimate decisions and stressed that resident safety is a priority.

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