Greenburgh, NY Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Chapter 240, the Sign and Illumination Law, regulates outdoor lighting alongside signage. Section 240-2A limits the area of brilliance, character, color, degree, density, intensity, location and type of illumination to the minimum necessary for property security and public safety and welfare. Section 240-2B is the direct light trespass rule: all sources of illumination must be shielded or directed so the direct rays are not cast upon any property other than the lot where the light is installed, meaning fixtures cannot simply point across a lot line.

Section 240-2C requires illumination to be steady, prohibiting flashing, moving or color-changing lights, and § 240-2D limits the duration of illumination to the minimum necessary for security, requiring non-security lighting to be extinguished thirty minutes after the premises close to the public, controlled by an automatic device rather than left to a switch. The same shielding and steady-light standards reappear in § 240-3C for illuminated signs, which must also go dark thirty minutes after closing on automatic controls and cannot use colors that could be confused with traffic signals.

The Building Inspector administers Chapter 240, and anyone aggrieved by a Building Inspector decision can appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals under § 240-9, with further review available in state Supreme Court under Article 78.