Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams is now pitching data centers to residents in rural Wisconsin

The former Mayor of New York City, the one and only Eric Adams, was apparently in rural Wisconsin over the weekend to pitch data centers to the public. 

Adams, who was recently succeeded by Zohran Mamdani in NYC, has been working as a “business development consultant” for several “real estate-related technology companies,” he recently told the Real Deal. 

Those adventures brought the former longtime cop to Wisconsin Rapids in Wood County where he tried to convince residents that they should allow a real estate developer, PNK Group, to build a data center in the city, which was first reported by Hell Gate NYC. 

Adams was almost immediately heckled by the crowd as he attempted to get through his introduction at the Wisconsin Rapids municipal library, according to a video posted online. 

“One of my colleagues sent me a post that says, ‘A high profile person is coming to your town,’ and I said, ‘Who’s that?'” Adams begins. “Let me tell you something: My name is Eric Adams,” he continues, as the boos begin to rain down. “I grew up in a small area in Queens, a young man, dyslexic. I’m not high-profile.”

“You belong in prison!” one attendee shouts. 

“Here’s what we’re gonna do,” Adams replies. 

“Steal our water!” someone shouts. “Destroy our town!” another yells. 

The construction of data centers is wildly unpopular in public polling, cutting across the partisan divide. The latest Marquette University Law School poll showed 76% of registered voters believe the costs of large data centers outweigh their benefits. The public have energy and environmental concerns as well as using valuable land for developments. 

In Wisconsin’s race for governor, both the Democratic and Republican frontrunners, Francesca Hong and Tom Tiffany, have policies in opposition to data centers. Hong took it a step further and proposed a moratorium of new construction for at least one year. 

Hell Gate NYC, subscriber-funded, worker-owned digital news and media publication covering local New York City politics, culture, and daily life, attended the Adams event.

The outlet spoke with local residents, who said they were “mystified” by the presence of Adams in central Wisconsin. 

Kaitlyn Federwitz of South Wood County Neighbors for Responsible Development told the outlet, “Our whole town does not want him here at all.”

The proposed location of the data center is adjacent to the Wisconsin River, on 209 acres that used to house the city’s paper mill, a longtime driver of its local economy, which shut down in 2020.

“We want our resources to be properly safeguarded, our farmers to be protected, our waterways protected,” said Federwitz. “When the mill closed, we lost 900 jobs. We’re aware we need jobs and industry in our city but we’re not willing to accept that a data center is the answer to that problem.”