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McCarrick Enacts Exterior Lighting Standards Historic Legislation Will Protect The Environment And Improve Quality Of Life (Farmingville, NY)- Brookhaven Councilman Kevin McCarrick announced that the Brookhaven Town Board approved a local law he sponsored to establish outdoor lighting standards throughout Brookhaven Town. “Light trespass has a negative impact upon our environment and human health” McCarrick Said, “not only is improper lighting inefficient, but it also contributes to wasteful abuse of fossil fuels that threatens air quality.” McCarrick pointed out that his research to curb abusive lighting practices was a culmination of his survey of statues throughout the nation and came together with the efforts of a study group of individuals who hail from all areas of Brookhaven Town and Suffolk County. “The study group found that contrary to popular belief improper lighting and ill conceived lighting practices do not increase security benefits nor do they make our streets safer,” McCarrick noted “we discovered that in fact security and visual lighting objectives can be better met with properly designed and installed shielded lighting that use less electricity.” “Brookhaven’s new outdoor lighting law is not only an excellent adjunct to their energy efficiency policies; it will contribute to improving the town’s nighttime safety and appearance,” said Susan Harder who participated in the study group, “Over time, the night sky over Brookhaven will reveal more stars, the residents’ rightful heritage. Since Brookhaven is a large township, this will set an example for all communities and it will be easier for “dark sky advocates” and their legislators to enact laws protecting residents and businesses from light pollution.” “I would like to thank the efforts of Susan Harder from East Hampton, David Cohn- Setauket, Phil Harrington – Miller Place, Tom Madigan of Patchogue and Alan Stadler - Ridge. These individuals who are experts in this field gave of their time freely to ensure that the measure enacted today became reality.” McCarrick explained that he is already working on an educational program to make the program more user friendly in order to allow members of the public a better understanding of how the program works as well as reaching compliance “I want to be sure that everyone has a clear understanding of what the town is trying to achieve and how easy the law was constructed for people to comply with its requirements.”
Posted on Friday, December 08, 2006 (Archive on Thursday, February 08, 2007)
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