Reader’s Write: LED Street Lights

The Island Now

Dear Village of Great Neck Council,

We read the story about the lawsuit with Ms. Judith Youngblood. I filed a FOIA request with the Village of Great Neck regarding your decision-making process related to LED streetlights, but I received a reply from your staff that you are unable to respond to my FOIA.

Soft Lights is an advocacy group focused on educating decision-makers about the emotional harm and eye damage caused by LED lights with a goal of convincing the decision-makers to install soft, pleasant lighting that is safe for humans and the ecosystem.

We are deeply saddened to see a local government inflicting so much harm on a resident by denying the resident the right to sleep, the right to safety, the right to view the stars and the right to liberty on her private property.  We would like to offer information to help solve this issue.

LED streetlights come in different color temperatures. Any color temperature above 2700 Kelvin is uncomfortable. Anything beyond 3000K is unsafe, according to the American Medical Association. Glare is the result of the blue wavelength in higher color temperature light and glare reduces visibility. Therefore, it is best to install a lower color temperature LED.

To solve the issue for Ms. Youngblood and all residents, we recommend using 2200K color temperature.  A company called Crossroads LED has a new 2200K street light that has a CRI exceeding 90 and built-in diffusion, but there are many fine companies such as Lumican that also make 2200K street lights.  In addition to using a low color temperature, ensure that the light is shielded and diffused.

We see no reason for the Village of Great Neck to continue harming Ms. Youngblood and we urge the council to reconsider its position.

Mark Baker

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