We had a presentation on May 5, 2009 by Mr. Stan Horwitz, Senior Project Manager, Bureau of Street Lighting, Department of Public Works. He noted that 85% of the city's lights are high pressure sodium lights, which create an orange colored light. Each light has a photo cell on it that tells it to turn on and off. If a light is on at the wrong time of day, it means that the photo cell is wearing out. Please call 311 to have it fixed.

The city is currently planning to switch to white LED lights this year, pending the mayor's approval. They are testing 12 different manufacturer's lights north of Roscoe, West of Haskell. Changing a light to LED is not just about the light bulb, the whole top of the fixture must be changed and the styles do vary.

They plan change 140,000 of the city's 200,000 lights over a 5 year timeframe. LEDs should  last 10-12 years. One of the benefits to LED lights is that they can be controlled remotely, to turn them off or dim them. They can also be monitored remotely.

So far the city is only using solar lights at bus stops, since the technology does not seem ready to provide consistent service throughout the night.

The Bureau of Street Lighting has a crew of 100 people who complete repairs. Every three months, each light is observed by a night team, to identify repair needs. If a light is out or a tree is blocking it, please call 311. If someone is removing the wires from the light, please call 911.