New York State Dark Skies Protection Act: What the Most Aggressive Statewide Lighting Bill in the US Means for Your Property
What S9637A Would Require
The New York State Dark Skies Protection Act goes further than any outdoor lighting bill previously enacted or passed in the United States. Massachusetts S.3145, which passed the Senate 39-0, applies only to publicly funded outdoor lighting — streetlights and parking lot fixtures owned by municipalities and state agencies. New York's S9637A would apply to every outdoor lighting fixture in the state — on private homes, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and municipal properties alike.
Core Requirements of S9637A
- Full shielding mandatory: All outdoor lighting fixtures must be fully shielded so light is directed downward only — zero upward light emission from any fixture on any property type
- Curfew for non-compliant fixtures: Fixtures that are not compliant with the shielding requirement must be turned off between 11pm and sunrise
- Motion-activated exception: Motion-activated fixtures are exempt from the curfew provided they shut off automatically within 15 minutes of activation
- Recreational facility restrictions: Outdoor recreational facilities including parks, arenas, and amphitheaters face a lights-out requirement between 11pm and 5am unless an active event is underway
- Effective date: January 1, 2028 — if the bill passes, which it has not yet done
What Is Exempt
S9637A includes a substantial list of exemptions that preserve essential lighting functions:
- Emergency services lighting
- Highway and airport lighting
- Worker safety lighting
- Certain municipal streetlighting
- Lower-powered and seasonal fixtures
- Historic landmarks
- Times Square (explicitly named)
- Active sports and entertainment events at recreational facilities
How S9637A Differs from Massachusetts S.3145
- Applies to publicly funded outdoor lighting only — streetlights and parking lot fixtures owned by municipalities and state agencies
- Requires full shielding and ≤3000K color temperature
- Creates preferential electric rate for low-wattage compliant fixtures
- Directs MassDOT to research outdoor lighting best practices
- Does not apply to private residential or commercial property
- Applies to ALL outdoor lighting — residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal
- Requires full shielding — no color temperature specification in the bill
- Curfew provision: non-compliant fixtures off from 11pm to sunrise
- Motion-activated fixtures exempt with 15-minute auto-shutoff
- Covers private property — the first statewide bill to do so at this scale
Why This Bill Matters Even Though It Has Not Passed
S9637A is stalled in committee — it has not passed either chamber of the New York Legislature and does not currently have a path to enactment. So why does it matter for facilities managers, developers, and municipalities in New York and beyond?
Bills like S9637A define the direction of policy travel. Massachusetts moved from no outdoor lighting law to a unanimous 39-0 Senate vote in one legislative cycle. Illinois advanced SB 3037. Palo Alto adopted one of the most stringent municipal ordinances in the country. Frisco, Colorado just earned IDA certification. The Midwest, the Northeast, and the Mountain West are all moving in the same direction.
A statewide bill that covers private property — including homes — is the logical next step after municipal ordinances prove effective and public support builds. New York City's East Coast flyway position, its documented sea turtle nesting on Long Island, and its growing organized advocacy around migratory bird protection give S9637A a political constituency that is expanding, not contracting.
What Compliant Specification Looks Like Under S9637A
The bill's technical requirement is full shielding — fixtures that direct all light downward with zero upward emission. In lighting specification terms, this means full-cutoff luminaires with a BUG rating of U0 (zero uplight). The bill does not specify a color temperature limit, but the ecological and public health rationale cited by the bill's sponsors — migratory bird protection, light trespass reduction, human health — is fully consistent with the ≤3000K standard in Massachusetts and IDA certification requirements.
Specifying Ahead of S9637A
- Parking lot and area lighting: Full-cutoff LED luminaires with U0 BUG rating — zero uplight, all output directed at the task surface
- Wall packs and building-mounted fixtures: Full-cutoff LED wall packs replacing any unshielded cobrahead or decorative fixtures that currently scatter light upward and sideward
- Motion-activated controls: Occupancy sensors with 15-minute (or shorter) auto-shutoff — qualifying for the bill's motion-activation exception regardless of fixture compliance status
- Color temperature: ≤3000K warm white — not required by S9637A but consistent with every other dark sky ordinance in the country and the right ecological and health choice
Access Fixtures Solutions for New York Properties
Full-Cutoff Area and Parking Lot Lighting
U0 BUG rated LED area luminaires that meet S9637A's full shielding requirement for commercial, industrial, and municipal parking areas — available now, ahead of any legislative timeline.
Shop Parking Lot Lighting →Full-Cutoff Wall Packs
Shielded LED wall packs for commercial and industrial building exteriors — replacing the unshielded cobrahead and decorative fixtures that would be non-compliant under S9637A's full shielding requirement.
Shop Wall Pack Lights →Motion-Sensing Controls
Occupancy sensors with configurable auto-shutoff timers — qualifying for S9637A's motion-activation exception and reducing total overnight ALAN contribution during the hours between curfew and dawn.
View Area Lighting →Photometric Studies for Compliance Documentation
Our lighting engineers document BUG ratings, footcandle levels, and uplight confirmation for every fixture on your site — producing the compliance record that S9637A enforcement would require.
Request a Photometric Study →Get Ahead of New York's Outdoor Lighting Direction
S9637A has not passed. But the direction of New York's outdoor lighting policy is clear. Our lighting specialists help New York property owners, facilities managers, and municipalities specify fully shielded LED systems that meet the bill's requirements now — avoiding the cost and disruption of a compliance retrofit if and when the legislation advances. Contact us to get started.
800-468-9925