A light nuisance kept some Brooklyn residents up at night until they turned to NY1 for You for help. Susan Jhun filed the following NY1 for You report.
Blinding, flashing lights flood all night into the windows of some Brooklyn tenants.
"They turned the intensity of the brightness up so much that they were actually shining through our blackout curtains. I had to put tin foil on my windows," says Catherine Strachan, one of the people complaining of light nuisance.
Residents complained to NY1 for You about the excessive light nuisance coming from Express Deli Ranch on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn. Tenants tell us not only is the light extremely bright, but it stays on flashing all night long, and while other businesses shut off their lights at 11 p.m., these lights continue to stay on until sunrise.
"The worse part, though, about the lights is that they actually flash so fast that they've caused headaches," Strachan says.
After several months of complaints to the deli and city went unaddressed, Strachan called NY1 For You. We found there's nothing in the NYC Construction Code or Zoning Resolution that restricts the hours during which an illuminated sign can operate. However, there are restrictions for where an illuminated sign can hang.
NY1 for You contacted the Department of Buildings and found the deli has no permit for the sign. After that, DOB sent inspectors out.
Based on that inspection, DOB told us the deli was issued violations both for not having a sign permit, as well as for having an illuminated sign in a C-1 district where a commercial area overlays a residential one, which isn't allowed.
NY1 for You also called Express Deli Ranch, and we got the owner to agree to turn down the lights. That night, residents said there was a drastic difference.
"They stopped the flashing and they turned down the brightness," Strachan says. "This was probably the best solution possible for both the neighborhood and the deli itself. I am very happy that NY1 came to the case and were able to bring light, pun intended, to the situation."