Monday, October 26, 2026 · Serving all of Hudson County since March 2011Secaucus, N.J. admits it never read plans for 125 MW data-center boom—and got $0 deal
HUDSON TV EXCLUSIVE By Julio Reynoso SECAUCUS, N.J. — In a pair of written responses on Monday, Oct. 26—just 24 hours before the Secaucus Town Council is scheduled to vote…
HUDSON TV EXCLUSIVE
By Julio Reynoso
SECAUCUS, N.J. — In a pair of written responses on Monday, Oct. 26—just 24 hours before the Secaucus Town Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday night on an “80-megawatt cap” ordinance for future data centers—Secaucus Town Administrator Gary Jeffas told Hudson TV that he had to ask Equinix and CoreSite how much power their two already-approved four-story Secaucus expansions will draw, learning they total 125 megawatts (MW) of new electricity, while admitting in writing: “Please note that I did not review specific plans submitted by the entities.”
Asked whether the Town of Secaucus will seek a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) or any host payments from either project—CoreSite’s 446,761-square-foot NY4 data center at 215 County Ave. (75 MW maximum usage per Jeffas; 64 critical MW per CoreSite) or Equinix’s 369,968-square-foot NY10 expansion at 275 Hartz Way (50 MW maximum usage)—Jeffas confirmed the town got a $0 deal: “Not at this time. Both of these projects have been approved.”
And when Hudson TV sent a second set of questions asking why data-center landlord Hartz Mountain Industries’ $3,600 in 2025 Form BE contributions to Mayor Michael Gonnelli’s Moving Secaucus Forward slate did not trigger an itemized campaign finance report—and whether Hartz Mountain’s $11,080 in total slate donations (plus $5,000 to the Hudson County Democratic Organization) or town vendor donations played any role in data-center approvals, the 30.1% assessment cut on Hartz’s 425 Meadowlands Pkwy. parcel, or a July 2026 installment deal for Hartz’s $2.47 million sewer connection fee—Jeffas answered the surrounding questions in red ink at 12:59 p.m. and left the campaign-finance question completely blank without comment.
The on-the-record disclosures from both Jeffas and CoreSite Media Relations arrived Monday ahead of Tuesday night’s Oct. 27 Town Council meeting—where Gonnelli and the council are scheduled to introduce an 80-megawatt per-facility zoning cap for the roughly 12% of Secaucus outside state Meadowlands control—after the town’s Oct. 16 public data-center Q&A omitted every megawatt figure:
Key findings & on-the-record disclosures (Oct. 26, 2026)
- 125 MW in two new expansions—and the Town Administrator never read the plans: Town Administrator Gary Jeffas told Hudson TV on Monday at 11:44 a.m. that after emailing Equinix and CoreSite on Oct. 8 to ask how many megawatts their Secaucus facilities use, “Based on what I was told the Equinix project at 275 Hartz way will have a maximum usage of 50 Megawatts and the Coresite project at 215 County Avenue will have a maximum usage of 75 Megawatts. Please note that I did not review specific plans submitted by the entities.” Both expansions sit just underneath Tuesday’s proposed 80-MW per-facility threshold while adding 125 MW combined.
- 103 critical MW for CoreSite alone (presented to the town in August 2024): CoreSite spokeswoman Megan Ruszkowski confirmed Monday at 12:23 p.m. that CoreSite’s two existing Secaucus data centers at 2 Emerson Lane (NY2 and NY3) use a combined 39 critical MW, and that its third facility at 215 County Ave. (NY4) is “designed to support 64 critical MW at full build and capacity” (75 MW total maximum usage including cooling and ancillary load per Jeffas), bringing CoreSite’s Secaucus campus alone to 103 critical MW. CoreSite added: “Our plans for NY4, which we first presented to the town in August 2024, have not materially changed since our Zoning Board of Adjustments hearing in May of 2026.”
- Zero Community Benefit Agreements (just PBA golf outings & toy drives): Asked whether Secaucus will seek a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) or host payments for 215 County Ave. or 275 Hartz Way, Jeffas answered: “Not at this time. Both of these projects have been approved.” Both Jeffas and CoreSite confirmed the companies pay nothing to the town beyond regular property taxes and permit/zoning fees—and that Mayor Gonnelli’s August 2026 newsletter claim that “contributions from data centers enable many community programs” referred to property taxes plus sponsoring the Policemen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) golf outing, school-supply backpack drives, community cleanups, and holiday toy donations.
- $125.76 million landlord (51.9% of the data-center tax base)—and a blank line on campaign cash: Public tax rolls released under OPRA show affiliates of Secaucus-based developer Hartz Mountain Industries own four of the nine data-center lots on the town’s tax list (generating $5.74 million of the $11.04 million billed in 2026 property taxes), plus the land under Equinix NY3 at 600 Jefferson Ave. Campaign filings show Hartz gave $11,080 to Gonnelli’s Moving Secaucus Forward committees—including $3,600 in 2025 on Hartz’s sworn ELEC Form BE filings during the exact cycle Moving Secaucus Forward filed a Form A-2 certifying it would spend under $15,800 and reporting zero itemized donors—plus $5,000 to the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) chaired by County Executive Craig Guy. In his 12:59 p.m. follow-up email, Jeffas left Question 3 about those contributions completely blank.
- 30.1% assessment drop, $2.47 million sewer fee deferral & $150,605/year sprinkler exemption: The net tax assessment on Hartz’s 425 Meadowlands Pkwy. data-center parcel dropped 30.1% from $8,585,000 (2022–2023) to $6,000,000 (2024–2026), saving roughly $117,900 a year, while on July 7, 2026 (Res. 2026-07-07-C) the Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) voted 5–0 to let Hartz pay a $2,471,337.60 sewer connection fee in installments. Meanwhile, Equinix and CoreSite deduct $3,301,300 in assessed value under a 1983 fire-sprinkler tax exemption (N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.130), saving roughly $150,605 a year.
- Inside the 5–0 Zoning Board vote for 215 County Ave.—and Jeffas’s pointer to the ZBA attorney: The May 11 / June 8, 2026 Zoning Board vote approving CoreSite’s 446,761-square-foot NY4 data center and on-site PSE&G substation included
YESvotes from Commissioner John Hugerich—project manager at family firm Hugerich Construction, Inc., which collected $1,073,910 to $1,185,087 from the Town (2022–Sept. 2026) and was sole bidder on the town’s $92,000/year heavy-equipment contract—and Commissioner Maryam Eldesouki, paid $24,855 by Secaucus as Planning/Zoning Board Secretary while working full-time at Hudson County Schools of Technology (HCST) at $90,744/year. Asked what conflict screening applies to board members whose firms hold town contracts, Jeffas wrote at 12:59 p.m. that “The Zoning Board has an assigned attorney who would deal with conflicts and advise any Board Members accordingly, if required”—referring to Florio Kenny Raval, L.L.P., which collected $315,721.39 net from Secaucus and donated $600 to Gonnelli’s slate, $31,000 to the HCDO, and $12,300 to Craig Guy. - Water approved before any MUA study—and Jeffas says the MUA is only now “re-confirming” flows: After the town’s Oct. 16 Q&A admitted the Secaucus MUA is “in the process of conducting an analysis of data center cooling systems, water usage, and water chemistry” five months after the Zoning Board approved 215 County Ave., Jeffas wrote at 12:59 p.m. that “When a data center is approved for operation they estimate the amount of water flow and that is checked from time to time for accuracy,” and that the SMUA is now “in the process of re-confirm the amount of water flow into the system by the data centers.”
1. What CoreSite and Town Administrator Gary Jeffas Admitted on the Record Monday
The Town of Secaucus’s 468-page OPRA production released Oct. 23 (OPRA-Req-26-1514 and 26-1516) revealed that at 12:17 p.m. and 12:19 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8—two and a half hours after Hudson TV filed its public-records request for data-center power and tax records—Town Administrator Gary Jeffas emailed Equinix’s Tony Sclafani (copying External Affairs Director Rey Banks) and CoreSite Senior Vice President of Operations Joseph Liccardo (who testified for CoreSite at the May 11 Zoning Board hearing) asking how many megawatts their Secaucus data centers use, and asking CoreSite what was being proposed for 215 County Ave. ahead of a meeting the next day, Friday, Oct. 9.
On Monday, Oct. 26, both Jeffas (in two separate emails at 11:44 a.m. and 12:59 p.m.) and CoreSite (at 12:23 p.m.) answered Hudson TV’s questions in writing, revealing for the first time the scale of the power load already approved in Secaucus:
- 125 MW of new power across two approved projects—just under the proposed 80-MW cap: In his 11:44 a.m. email copied to Mayor Gonnelli and Town Clerk Michael Marra, Jeffas wrote:
“I made this inquiry so I could have a better understanding. Based on what I was told the Equinix project at 275 Hartz way will have a maximum usage of 50 Megawatts and the Coresite project at 215 County Avenue will have a maximum usage of 75 Megawatts. Please note that I did not review specific plans submitted by the entities.”
When asked again in Hudson TV’s second inquiry for the maximum engineered physical capacity of 215 County Ave., 275 Hartz Way, and all existing Secaucus data centers, Jeffas replied at 12:59 p.m.: “I believe this was answered in a prior email.”
- CoreSite confirms 39 critical MW at NY2/NY3 + 64 critical MW at NY4 (103 critical MW total): At 12:23 p.m., CoreSite spokeswoman Megan Ruszkowski confirmed that Liccardo provided CoreSite’s figures to Mayor Gonnelli and Jeffas at the Oct. 9 meeting:
“Yes, our Senior Vice President of Operations Joe Liccardo followed up with the mayor and town administrator at the October 9 meeting. We currently have two data centers in Secaucus – NY2 and NY3 – which use a combined 39 critical MWs. Due to increased customer demand, we’re working to build our third Secaucus data center – NY4 – which is designed to support 64 critical MW at full build and capacity. It’s important to understand that we build each of our data center buildings in phases over several years, so we draw power only as needed, rather than 100% on day 1. It will take several years to near full capacity at NY2 and NY3, and we don’t expect NY4 to reach full capacity until well into the 2030s.”
(“Critical MW” measures the electricity delivered directly to computer servers and IT racks; total facility usage—which Jeffas stated is 75 MW maximum at 215 County Ave.—also includes chillers, cooling towers, pumps, and building mechanical systems.)
- Presented to Town Hall in August 2024: Asked what CoreSite told the town about 215 County Ave. and whether anything had changed since the Zoning Board’s 5–0 approval on May 11, CoreSite stated:
“Our plans for NY4, which we first presented to the town in August 2024, have not materially changed since our Zoning Board of Adjustments hearing in May of 2026. NY4 will be a multi-tenant data center, which means dozens of companies house computer equipment to store and process data all under one roof. Our data centers, which are typically smaller and use less power than AI-training hyperscale data centers, make everyday activities possible.”
Asked why he had emailed CoreSite on Oct. 8 asking what was proposed for 215 County Ave. five months after the Zoning Board approved it, Jeffas wrote: “I do not understand the question. If you are referring to the meeting of 10/9, the purpose of that meeting was not to obtain information about the 215 County Avenue project.”
- The closed-door Oct. 9 prep meeting with utilities: Both Jeffas and CoreSite confirmed that before the Oct. 13 session with invited residents, town officials held a private meeting on Friday, Oct. 9 with representatives of Equinix, CoreSite, PSE&G, and Veolia Water. CoreSite said the goal of the Oct. 9 session “was to plan logistics for a broader meeting and tour of CoreSite’s NY2 and NY3 facilities on October 13,” while Jeffas wrote that the Oct. 9 meeting “was held at the request of the various entities who participated as they wanted to understand the framework for our October 13th meeting.”
- No Community Benefit Agreements—and what the Mayor’s “contributions” claim actually meant: Asked what Mayor Gonnelli meant in the August 2026 Town Newsletter when he wrote that “contributions from data centers enable many community programs that bring people together,” Jeffas replied:
“I believe the Mayor was referring to contributions by way of property taxes. However, many of our business partners will assist with initiatives like community clean-ups, back pack drives for school children, donations for toys around the holiday season, etc.”
CoreSite similarly confirmed:
“Beyond the millions CoreSite pays to the Town of Secaucus annually in taxes – which helps fund public infrastructure, schools, libraries, public safety and more – CoreSite has not made any payments to the town (outside of required permits and zoning payments). We have not applied for or participated in any PILOT programs in Secaucus, nor requested or participated in any NDAs associated with our developments with state or local officials in New Jersey. We have, however, supported the local community through volunteerism with organizations including Catholic Charities, donations, and sponsorships, including sponsoring the Policemen’s Benevolent Association BA golf outing, donating school suppliers and toys during the holidays.”
And asked whether the town will seek a Community Benefit Agreement or any host payments from CoreSite for 215 County Ave. or from Equinix for the 275 Hartz Way expansion, Jeffas answered flatly:
“Not at this time. Both of these projects have been approved. I believe, they were approved before Governor Sherill laid out her platform as it relates to Data Centers and her favoring specific Community Benefit Agreements.”
2. Physical Buildout Capacity vs. Current Usage: How Secaucus’s Data-Center Footprint Reaches 250+ MW
The figures confirmed on Monday by CoreSite and Jeffas show why the Town Council’s proposed 80-MW zoning ordinance (Section 135-9.N, scheduled for introduction Tuesday night, Oct. 27) would not touch either of the massive expansions already approved in Secaucus:
- Both expansions sit just under 80 MW individually while adding 125 MW combined: At 75 MW total / 64 critical MW for CoreSite’s 215 County Ave. (
NY4) and 50 MW for Equinix’s 275 Hartz Way (NY10), both projects fall right underneath an 80-MW per-facility threshold while adding 114 to 125 MW of new electrical capacity on top of Secaucus’s existing facilities. - The town ordinance only covers ~12% of Secaucus: Even more fundamentally, the ordinance amends Chapter 135 of the Town Code (
I-Industrial Zone), which applies only to the roughly 12% of Secaucus zoned by the town—leaving out the 88% of Secaucus inside the state’s New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) district where all existing data centers and both 215 County Ave. and 275 Hartz Way are located.
Combining Monday’s on-the-record figures from CoreSite and Jeffas with published engineering specifications, contractor filings, and grid-load databases (Ask the Grid, Baxtel, DPR Construction, and USDataMap) shows the full physical buildout capacity across Secaucus’s 5.8 square miles:
| Secaucus Facility & Address | Gross Floor Area | Initial / Current Energized Draw | Full Physical Buildout / Maximum Capacity | Backup Diesel Generators & Cooling Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoreSite NY2 & NY3 (2 Emerson Ln.) | 394,000+ sq. ft. combined (NY2: 256,000+ sq. ft.; NY3: 138,000+ sq. ft., 4 stories) | NY3 opened with 5 MW in Phase 1; CoreSite confirms 39 critical MW combined across NY2 & NY3 (Oct. 26) | 39 critical MW (24 MW NY2 + 15 MW NY3 across three 5-MW data halls) | NY3 has four 3.5-MW rooftop diesel generators (14 MW), two 1,650-ton chiller plants & 4 cooling towers; rack-level & direct-to-chip liquid cooling active |
| CoreSite NY4 (215 County Ave. — Approved May 11, 2026) | 446,761 sq. ft. (4 stories) replacing 128,263-sq.-ft. building | 0 MW (pre-construction; full build expected in the 2030s) | 64 critical MW (CoreSite, Oct. 26) / 75 MW maximum usage (Jeffas, Oct. 26) | ZBA resolution approves dedicated on-site PSE&G-supported substation, fuel tanks & water towers with zero CBA |
| Equinix NY2 & NY10 Expansion (275 Hartz Way) | Expanding from 198,396 sq. ft. (2 floors) to 369,968 sq. ft. (4 floors) | 6.0 to 6.8 MW utility service on existing NY2 | 14 MW (existing NY2) + 50 MW maximum usage for 4-story NY10 expansion (Jeffas, Oct. 26) | Site of Sept. 11 5,500-gal. diesel spill; Equinix Q&A #4 confirms NY10 chilled-water system can serve direct-to-chip liquid cooling |
| Equinix NY3 (600 Jefferson Ave. — Hartz land) | 250,853 sq. ft. (2 stories) | Phase 1 opened with ~1,200 cabinets | 15 MW critical IT load; designed for ~5,050 cabinets (4.2× Phase 1) | Four 3.25-MW diesel generators (13 MW) + 1 life-safety generator; high-density & liquid cooling |
| Equinix NY4 (755 Secaucus Rd. — Hartz land) | 338,967 sq. ft. (151,771 sq. ft. colo) | 14.4 MW energized load (Ask the Grid) | 18.0 to 18.5 MW full buildout (Baxtel / USDataMap) | N+1 diesel generators (30+ hours fuel autonomy); evaporative cooling towers |
| Equinix NY5 (800 Secaucus Rd. — Hartz land) | 275,363 sq. ft. (2 stories) | Not disclosed by town | 18 to 22 MW reported capacity | Evaporative cooling towers |
| Equinix NY6 (105 Enterprise Ave. S.) | 33,000+ sq. ft. | Not disclosed by town | up to 26 MW reported (USDataMap; 300–1,800 kVA wholesale suites) | Chilled-water / air handling |
| Centersquare / Cyxtera EWR5 & Evocative EWR1 | Multiple Secaucus sites | 10 MW energized at Evocative EWR1 | 26 to 30 MW at Centersquare/Cyxtera + 10 MW at Evocative | PSE&G territory |
Across existing facilities (roughly 130 to 160+ MW of installed or engineered capacity) plus the 114 to 125 MW in newly confirmed expansions at 215 County Ave. and 275 Hartz Way, Secaucus’s approved data-center footprint reaches 245 to 285+ megawatts inside a 5.8-square-mile town.
3. Hartz Mountain: Landlord for 51.9% of Secaucus’s Data-Center Tax Base, Political Donor & the Question Jeffas Left Blank
In its Oct. 23 response to Hudson TV’s OPRA request (OPRA-Req-26-1514), the Town of Secaucus produced tax-assessment printouts and tax-collector ledgers for nine data-center properties. Together, those nine lots carry $242,103,500 in 2026 net assessed value and were billed $11,044,761.67 in 2026 property taxes (which is split among the Town of Secaucus, the Secaucus Board of Education, and Hudson County).
While corporate filings show zero direct political contributions from Equinix or CoreSite to Secaucus or Hudson County campaign committees, the tax records show that four of the nine data-center parcels—accounting for $125,761,600 in net assessed value, or 51.9% of the entire data-center tax base—are owned by Hartz Mountain Industries or Hartz-managed special-purpose LLCs headquartered at 500 Plaza Drive in Secaucus:
| Data-Center Property (Block / Lot) | Owner of Record on Town Tax Ledger | Operator / Facility | 2022 Net Assessment | 2026 Net Assessment | Fire-Sprinkler Exemption Deducted | 2026 Property Tax Billed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 800 Secaucus Rd. (Block 23, Lot 4.02) | 800 Secaucus LLC % Hartz | Equinix NY5 (275,363 sq. ft.) | $57,246,700 | $62,746,700 | $716,100 | $2,862,504.45 |
| 755 Secaucus Rd. (Block 30, Lot 4.03) | 755 Secaucus LLC % Hartz | Equinix NY4 (338,967 sq. ft.) | $52,695,800 | $52,695,800 | $881,300 | $2,403,982.40 |
| 2 Emerson Ln. (Block 57, Lot 5) | CoreSite RE 2 Emerson Lane LLC | CoreSite NY2 & NY3 (39 critical MW combined) | $41,448,600 | $50,402,600 | $755,600 | $2,299,366.61 |
| 275 Hartz Way (Block 22, Lot 2) | Equinix LLC | Equinix NY2 & 50-MW NY10 expansion (369,968 sq. ft.) | $38,021,400 | $38,021,400 | $948,300 | $1,734,536.27 |
| 3 Enterprise Ave. (Block 56, Lot 3.01) | PLDAB LLC (ACH Prologis) | Data center / industrial | $14,643,100 | $14,691,900 | $0 | $670,244.48 |
| 1 Enterprise Ave. (Block 56, Lot 3.02) | c/o Prologis | Data center / industrial | $8,000,000 | $8,000,000 | $0 | $364,960.00 |
| 425 Meadowlands Pkwy. (Block 18, Lot 5.041) | 425 Meadowland Pkwy LLC % Hartz Mtn | Data center facility | $8,585,000 | $6,000,000 | $0 | $273,720.00 |
| 215 County Ave. (Block 30, Lot 9) | CoreSite Real Estate NY4 LLC | CoreSite NY4 (446,761 sq. ft., 64 critical MW / 75 MW max) | $5,226,000 | $5,226,000 | $0 | $238,410.12 |
| 135 Seaview Dr. (Block 19, Lot 8) | Hartz Mountain Ind. Inc. | Data center facility | $4,319,100 | $4,319,100 | $0 | $197,037.34 |
| Total (9 Data-Center Lots) | Hartz owns $125,761,600 (51.9% of total valuation) | $230,185,700 | $242,103,500 | $3,301,300 | $11,044,761.67 | |
In addition to the four Hartz-owned parcels on the town’s nine-lot production, grid infrastructure records list Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc. as the landowner for Equinix NY3 at 600 Jefferson Ave. (a 250,853-square-foot facility whose records the town omitted from its OPRA production despite Hudson TV requesting them by address).
Campaign finance filings with NJ ELEC show Hartz Mountain is one of the largest long-term corporate contributors to Mayor Gonnelli’s political slate:
- $3,600 in 2025 to Moving Secaucus Forward: On their sworn 2025 ELEC Form BE pay-to-play statements (
VID 10725andVID 16403), Hartz Mountain affiliates reported two contributions from Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc. to Moving Secaucus Forward—$3,000 on March 18, 2025 and $600 on Sept. 23, 2025. Yet in that same 2025 mayoral and council election cycle, Gonnelli’s joint candidates committee (Moving Secaucus Forward, ELEC Entity448973) filed a sworn Form A-2 on May 27 and Sept. 28, 2025 certifying it would not spend more than $15,800, and filed zero itemized contributor reports online, even though Form A-2 requires a separate Form C-1 disclosure for any contribution over $200. - $7,480 in earlier itemized gifts to Gonnelli and council slates: ELEC records show Hartz Mountain gave $6,600 net to Gonnelli’s mayoral slates between 2013 and 2021 ($1,500 in 2013; $1,500, $1,200 less a $100 refund, and $1,000 in the 2016–2017 cycle; and $1,500 on Aug. 26, 2021), plus $880 ($330 on Oct. 4, 2022 and $550 on Oct. 13, 2022 via executive Jay Rhatican) to the Gerbasio, Clancy & Tringali Moving Secaucus Forward council slate.
- $5,000 to the HCDO & $5,000 to McGreevey: Hartz Mountain also contributed $5,000 to the Hudson County Democratic Organization chaired by County Executive Craig Guy (dated May 20, 2025 on Hartz’s Form BE and June 5, 2025 on the HCDO’s ELEC report), $5,000 to Jim McGreevey for Mayor across 2024–2025, and $14,400 to the Developers Political Action Committee on Feb. 4, 2025.
- Assessment reduction & MUA installment deal: Starting in 2024, the net assessment on Hartz’s 425 Meadowlands Pkwy. data-center parcel dropped 30.1%, from $8,585,000 to $6,000,000—saving roughly $117,900 a year at the 2026 tax rate. Separately, on July 7, 2026 (
Resolution 2026-07-07-C), the Secaucus MUA board voted 5–0 to allow Hartz to pay a $2,471,337.60 sewer connection fee for its Meadowlands Logistic Center (Block 227, Lot 9) in installments, while Town check registers show Secaucus refunded $549,870.81 in tax appeals (Res. 2025-30) to the owner of 500 Plaza Drive (Hancock S-REIT), where Hartz is headquartered, after cutting that building’s assessment from $63.25 million to $43.25 million. - Jeffas leaves Question 3 blank: In Hudson TV’s follow-up email sent Monday morning, Question 3 asked why Hartz Mountain’s $3,600 in 2025 Form BE contributions did not trigger an itemized R-1 report from Moving Secaucus Forward, and whether Hartz Mountain’s $11,080 in campaign gifts or the campaign contributions of Town engineering and legal vendors played any role in the Town’s handling of data-center approvals, assessments, or the July 7, 2026 Secaucus MUA installment agreement. In his 12:59 p.m. reply (copied to Mayor Gonnelli, Town Clerk Michael Marra, and Councilwoman Orietta Tringali), Jeffas answered Questions 1, 2, and 4 in red ink and left Question 3 completely blank.
4. Inside the 5–0 Zoning Board Vote for CoreSite’s 64-Critical-MW / 75-MW Data Center at 215 County Ave.
Since September’s 5,500-gallon diesel fuel spill at Equinix’s 275 Hartz Way construction site, Mayor Gonnelli has repeatedly blamed the NJSEA for allowing data centers in Secaucus, telling residents the town has no power to stop them because the NJSEA zones roughly 88% of Secaucus.
However, the NJSEA pointed out that Secaucus opted out of NJSEA site-plan review in 2015—meaning the Secaucus Zoning Board of Adjustment conducts the public hearings and votes on site plans, zoning certificates, and bulk variances for new data centers, and CoreSite confirmed on Monday that it first presented its NY4 plans to the town in August 2024.
According to the Zoning Board’s 10-page resolution adopted June 8, 2026 (memorializing its May 11, 2026 vote on CoreSite Real Estate NY4 LLC, Block 30, Lot 9), the board voted 5–0 to grant CoreSite preliminary and final major site plan approval, a zoning certificate, and three bulk (c) variances to demolish a one-story, 128,263-square-foot industrial building at 215 County Ave. (across from the Shetik youth soccer fields) and construct a four-story, 446,761-square-foot data center alongside an on-site PSE&G-supported electrical substation, fuel tanks, and water towers. The three variances allowed CoreSite to provide just 70 parking spaces instead of the 345 required under NJSEA rules, two loading berths instead of three, and no structural screening along the western edge of the property shielding the tanks and substation.
Only one resident (from 1800 Charles Street) spoke at the May 11 hearing. A cross-check of the five Zoning Board members who voted YES (Chairperson Diane Bascom, John Hugerich, Maryam Eldesouki, Marco Suarez, and DeIasi; Neetu Chugh and Bochner were absent) and the board’s professionals against Town check registers and state pension records reveals deep financial ties to Town Hall and Hudson County:
- Zoning Board Commissioner John Hugerich (Voted
YES) — $1.07M to $1.185M Paid to Family Firm Hugerich Construction: Appointed to the Zoning Board by the Mayor and Council, Hugerich is a project manager at his family’s Secaucus contracting firm, Hugerich Construction, Inc. (66 Henry St.). Native Town check registers (cr2022.xlsthroughcr2024_2026.xls) show Secaucus paid Hugerich Construction $1,185,086.74 across 112 payment entries from 2022 through September 2026 (or $1,073,910.30 net if one duplicate $111,176.44 entry on Meadow Lane Job #1006 in Sept./Oct. 2023 was a void-and-reissue)—including $190,347.13 in 2022, $561,928.10 in 2023, $133,552.10 in 2024, $142,196.42 in 2025, and $157,062.99 in the first nine months of 2026. In both 2021 (Res. 2021-99) and 2024 (Res. 2024-126, NTE $92,000/year), the town’s Heavy Equipment Leasing bid drew only a single bidder: Hugerich Construction. - Zoning Board Commissioner Maryam Eldesouki (Voted
YES) — Paid $24,855 by Secaucus + $90,744/Yr at HCST: While sitting as a voting Zoning Board member, Eldesouki was simultaneously paid $24,855.00 across 35 Town check-register entries (2022 through Jan. 28, 2026) as the Town’s paid Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment Secretary ($200 per meeting plus $5,000 to $7,400 annual stipends underRes. 2023-293). State pension records (data.nj.govas of June 30, 2026) show Eldesouki is also a full-time employee of the Hudson County Schools of Technology (HCST) earning $90,744.00 a year, and ELEC records show she donated to both County Executive Craig Guy ($150 on Oct. 10, 2025, listing HCST as employer) and Gonnelli’s Moving Secaucus Forward ($100, listing the Town of Secaucus as employer). - Zoning Board Commissioner Marco Suarez (Voted
YES): Paid $3,458.00 by the Town for recreation events ($1,058 on Sept. 27, 2023 for a Camp Day event and $2,400 on Aug. 26, 2026 for the town’s July 1 celebration). - Jeffas points to the Zoning Board Attorney—who collected $315,721+ from Secaucus and gave $43,900 to Guy, HCDO & Gonnelli’s Slate: Asked in Question 4 what conflict-of-interest screening applies to Zoning Board members whose businesses hold Town contracts or who are paid on the Town payroll, Jeffas replied at 12:59 p.m.:
“The Zoning Board has an assigned attorney who would deal with conflicts and advise any Board Members accordingly, if required.”
The law firm assigned to advise the Zoning Board of Adjustment (
Res. 2026-66Item 13, alongside serving as Town Labor Attorney and ABC Board Counsel) is Florio Kenny Raval, L.L.P., which received $363,754.54 across 151 Town check-register rows from 2022 through August 2026 ($315,721.39 net after accounting for a Jan./Feb. 2024 batch re-entry, including $22,925.00 specifically billed as Zoning Board of Adjustment counsel), plus $323,523.00 in 2024 contracts with Hudson County and its Board of Commissioners. On its 2024 ELEC Form BE (VID 12852) and ELEC committee filings, Florio Kenny Raval and its partners disclosed giving $600 ($300 twice on March 21, 2024) to Moving Secaucus Forward, $31,000 to the HCDO (2023–2025), and $12,300 to Craig Guy (2022–2025).
5. The Law & Engineering Firms Paid Millions by Secaucus & Hudson County While Funding Political Slates
Beyond Hartz Mountain and Florio Kenny Raval, contractor Form BE filings for 2024 and 2025 show that the engineering and law firms paid to review Secaucus’s roads, sewers, tax appeals, and development applications routinely donate to Gonnelli’s Moving Secaucus Forward, County Executive Craig Guy, and the HCDO—including $15,540 in contractor-reported gifts to Moving Secaucus Forward across 2024 and 2025 that never appeared in itemized ELEC committee reports because Gonnelli’s slate filed Form A-2:
| Firm & Secaucus / Data-Center Role | Paid by Secaucus / MUA (2022–Sept. 2026) | Paid by Hudson County / HCIA / NJSEA (2024–2025 Form BE) | Reported Gifts to Gonnelli / Moving Secaucus Forward | Reported Gifts to Craig Guy, HCDO & Guy 501(c)(3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartz Mountain Industries Landlord on 4 of 9 OPRA data-center lots ($125.76M value) + Equinix NY3 |
$2,471,337.60 MUA sewer fee deferred to installments (7/7/26); $10,241.69 refund | ~$57M NJEDA Aspire warehouse tax credit (Nov. 2025) | $11,080 total ($3,600 in 2025 on Form BE; $880 in 2022; $6,600 net 2013–2021) | $5,000 to HCDO (May/June 2025) |
| Remington & Vernick Engineers Secaucus Consulting Engineer ($1M NTE in 2026) |
$2,091,011.14 (300 Town check-register rows) | $267,861.28 (Hudson County & County Planning Board) | $6,000 on Form BE ($2,500 on 4/18/24; $1,000 on 9/26/24; $1,500 on 4/3/25; $1,000 on 10/7/25) | $1,500 to Craig Guy (4/18/24) |
| Boswell Engineering, Inc. Town Engineer on Hartz Way & American Way road work ($172.5K no-bid Res. 2026-282) |
$703,682.62 (249 Town check-register rows, incl. Hartz Way outside Equinix NY2/NY10) | $23,747.50 (2024 Form BE) + $1.45M in 2025–2026 County authorizations | $1,200 on Form BE ($600 on 4/4/24; $600 on 4/2/25) | $25,000 to HCDO (2024–25) + $9,100 to Craig Guy (2022–26) |
| Weiner Law Group LLP Secaucus Tax Appeal Attorney |
$539,525.46 (62 Town check-register rows) | $83,085.00 (Hudson County & County Insurance Commission, 2025) | $0 reported | $10,000 to HCDO (5/5/25) |
| Chasan Lamparello Mallon & Cappuzzo (Secaucus) Secaucus Town Counsel, Litigation Counsel & Planning Board Attorney |
$386,922.64 (263 Town check-register rows) | $1,247,458.06 (County of Hudson, 2024–25) + $2,251.70 Meadowlands Comm. | $550 (9/27/22 to MSF) | $33,500 to HCDO (2023–25) + $10,400 to Craig Guy (2022–24) |
| Florio Kenny Raval, L.L.P. Secaucus Zoning Board Attorney (oversaw 215 County Ave. vote) & Labor Counsel |
$315,721.39 net ($363,754.54 gross; $22,925 as ZBA Attorney) | $323,523.00 (County of Hudson & Board of Commissioners, 2024) | $600 on Form BE ($300 × 2 on 3/21/24) | $31,000 to HCDO (2023–25) + $12,300 to Craig Guy (2022–25) |
| Beckmeyer Engineering P.C. Secaucus MUA Consulting Engineer (MUA water/cooling study) |
$212,467.05 from Secaucus MUA (2024–25 Form BE; Brian Beckmeyer is MUA Vice Chair) | $0 reported | $720 on Form BE ($600 on 3/28/25; $120 on 9/2/25) | $0 reported |
| Neglia Group / Neglia Engineering Secaucus Municipal & Board Engineer |
$71,423.00 (8 Town check-register rows) | $13,413.75 (2025 Form BE; $1.13M in 2025–26 County awards) | $0 reported | $17,500 to HCDO (2024–25) + $12,800 to Craig Guy (2023–25) |
| Waters, McPherson, McNeill, P.C. (300 Lighting Way, Secaucus) Secaucus commercial land-use, tax & redevelopment firm |
Commercial land-use / tax counsel in Secaucus | $938,187.50 (HCIA Special Litigation $868.1K + County Workers’ Comp $70.1K) | $300 on Form BE (4/17/24) | $3,000 to Craig Guy Civic Association 501(c)(3) (9/18/24) + $27,000 to HCDO + $29,600+ to Craig Guy + $25,000 to Hudson Votes Project |
| Sills Cummis & Gross P.C. (Adam J. Faiella, Esq.) CoreSite’s ZBA attorney for 215 County Ave. |
Represented CoreSite NY4 before Secaucus ZBA (May 11, 2026) | State/municipal redevelopment counsel | $0 reported | $12,350 to McGreevey, $4,000+ to Solomon, $2,300 to Russo, $1,000 to Bayonne Dems, $500 to Stack |
6. Water & Cooling Towers Approved Months Before Any MUA Study
The records also show that Secaucus approved CoreSite’s 446,761-square-foot, 64-critical-MW / 75-MW data center at 215 County Ave. without knowing how much water the town’s data centers evaporate or discharge.
In the June 8, 2026 Zoning Board resolution for 215 County Ave., CoreSite engineer Kyle MacGeorge of Langan Engineering described the project’s “accessory water tanks, fuel tanks, control house” and PSE&G substation, and Condition 4 of the approval requires exterior colors “for the water towers that blend with the existing vegetation.” Yet the resolution contains no figures on average or peak daily water consumption in gallons per day.
In the town’s Oct. 16 Q&A (Questions 6, 7, and 8), both CoreSite and Equinix confirmed their Secaucus facilities use evaporative cooling towers that continuously evaporate municipal water supplied by Veolia Water, treat the circulating water with biocides and non-biodegradable chlorine to prevent Legionella bacteria, and discharge concentrated mineral wastewater into the Secaucus MUA sanitary sewer system once dissolved solids build up after three to four cycles.
Then, at the end of Question 8, CoreSite revealed:
“The Secaucus MUA is in the process of conducting an analysis of data center cooling systems, water usage, and water chemistry.”
Asked in Hudson TV’s second inquiry why the 446,761-square-foot facility was approved before the Secaucus MUA completed that study—and what the projected peak daily water consumption and sewer blowdown discharge are in gallons per day for 215 County Ave. and 275 Hartz Way—Jeffas provided no gallon figures in his 12:59 p.m. email, writing instead:
“While I would direct you to the SMUA for specifics, as I understand it they are in the process of re-confirm the amount of water flow into the system by the data centers. When a data center is approved for operation they estimate the amount of water flow and that is checked from time to time for accuracy. The SMUA is in the process of confirming the flow amounts to be sure there has been no significant change in the amount of discharge or change in the products used in any process that could adversely impact the treatment process. They would have done this same analysis for 215 County and 275 Hartz Way. As I trust you are also aware, Veolia water has to do a full analysis to ensure they can meet the demands without adversely impacting the customers they currently serve. The SMUA informed me that they will check the flow on other businesses that operate in town from time to time and this is not unique to data centers.”
Notably, the Secaucus MUA board is served by Vice Chairman Brian Beckmeyer while paying Beckmeyer Engineering P.C. $212,467.05 in 2024–2025 engineering contracts, and Beckmeyer Engineering reported $720 in 2025 Form BE contributions to Gonnelli’s Moving Secaucus Forward slate.
What it means for Secaucus taxpayers
In 2025—an election year in which Mayor Gonnelli and his slate ran unopposed—Secaucus kept its municipal tax levy increase at 0%. Two months after the election, in April 2026, the town introduced a 2026 budget raising the local municipal tax levy by 7.13% (from $53.04 million to $56.82 million, or roughly $245 on the average home), even as data-center properties claimed $3.3 million in fire-sprinkler assessment deductions, Hartz’s 425 Meadowlands Pkwy. parcel sat $2.585 million below its 2023 assessment, and the town sought zero Community Benefit Agreements on 125 MW of newly approved data-center expansions.
Secaucus and Hudson County homeowners who want to check whether their own home is over-assessed compared to neighboring properties can run a free check with GardenState.ai’s Property Tax Appeal tool, model how municipal and school levy hikes affect their bill with the Tax Shock calculator, and track their home value estimate.
Hudson TV asks: Should Secaucus demand Community Benefit Agreements and full megawatt and daily water disclosures from CoreSite and Equinix—and bar town contractors from sitting on land-use boards? Share your take in the comments.
Have a tip or documents on Secaucus data centers, contracts, or police surveillance cameras? Email info@hudsontv.com.
Sources
- Written email responses to Hudson TV from Secaucus Town Administrator Gary M. Jeffas, Esq. (Oct. 26, 2026 at 11:44 a.m. ET and 12:59 p.m. ET, copying Mayor Michael Gonnelli, Town Clerk Michael Marra, and Councilwoman Orietta Tringali) and CoreSite Media Relations spokeswoman Megan Ruszkowski (Oct. 26, 2026, 12:23 p.m. ET).
- Town of Secaucus response to Hudson TV OPRA requests
26-1514and26-1516, letter signed by Town Clerk Michael Marra, Oct. 23, 2026: Oct. 8, 2026 emails from Town Administrator Gary Jeffas to Equinix and CoreSite (pp. 56–57); 2022–2026 assessment printouts (pp. 5–13) and Tax Account Detail Inquiry ledgers printed Oct. 22, 2026 (pp. 25–46) for nine data-center properties; automatic fire-suppression system tax-exemption claims under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.130 et seq. (pp. 47–55); August 2026 Secaucus Monthly newsletter (p. 58); native check-register filescr2022.xls,cr2023.xls, andcr2024_2026.xls(31,490 payment rows, Jan. 2022–Sept. 2026). - Town of Secaucus Zoning Board of Adjustment Resolution (adopted June 8, 2026; hearing May 11, 2026), Applicant: CoreSite Real Estate NY4 LLC, 215 County Avenue, Block 30, Lot 9, Light Industry Zone A (LI-A) (10 pp.).
- Town of Secaucus Mayor and Council meeting agenda packet for Oct. 27, 2026 (Ordinance amending Chapter 135 “Zoning” to address warehousing and data centers, pp. 8–14).
- Town of Secaucus, “Responses to Public Questions About Data Centers,” posted Oct. 16, 2026 (Questions 1–22).
- Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority meeting minutes, Nov. 12, 2024, Nov. 5, 2025, and July 7, 2026 (
Res. 2026-07-07-Con Hartz Mountain’s $2,471,337.60 sewer connection fee installment agreement). - New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) Pay-to-Play Business Entity Annual Statement (Form BE) filings for 2024 and 2025 (
P2P_2024_Contributions.csv,P2P_2024_Contracts.csv,P2P_2025_Contributions.csv,P2P_2025_Contracts.csv), and ELEC campaign reports for Moving Secaucus Forward (Entities297818,315702,365109,415047,434803, and448973Form A-2 DocId3890501), Craig Guy for Hudson County Executive, and the Hudson County Democratic Organization. - New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits active and retired member datasets (
data.nj.govas of June 30, 2026). - Published facility engineering and power-load specifications: DPR Construction project profile (CoreSite NY3 Phase One, 15 MW / three 5-MW halls / four 3.5-MW generators / four cooling towers); Ask the Grid and Baxtel facility profiles (Equinix NY2, NY3, NY4, NY5, NY6; CoreSite NY2, NY3; Evocative EWR1; Centersquare EWR5); USDataMap New Jersey Data Center directory.
- Photos in featured graphic: Secaucus Municipal Government Center by Mr. Matté / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); inset portrait of Mayor Michael Gonnelli from Town of Secaucus official website (
secaucusnj.gov).
0 comments
Sign in to comment