New Leb lights burn into the night

GREENWICH — The gym lights in the new New Lebanon School remain lit during the night, a temporary problem causing concerns of light pollution among neighbors, but one that building project officials say should be fixed before or during April break.

The new building opened for all students in February, but work is ongoing: Fences are being installed around the old school building in preparation for demolition, which is expected to be completed into the summer break, and work on finishing details in the new school building will occur after school and on Saturdays.

Neighbors have noticed the gym lights are on as late into the night as 2 a.m, shining through the large gym windows. But Steve Walko, the building committee chair, said the lights will not remain on for long.

New Lebanon has a complex system that harvests daylight to power the lights, but one part of the system, which controls turning the lights off, has yet to be installed, programmed and adjusted, he said.

The lights are on because of a programming issue that Walko said will be addressed by April break. Fixing the lights will, in part, require the electricians to install more switches.

Eventually, the lights will shut down at night, and only security lights will remain on at night, Walko said.

But the electricians and the construction company, Gilbane, have cut off some of the lights, and the shades are also lowered to limit light pollution, he said.

“I’m thankful that this was brought to our attention,” Walko said. “No one wants bright lights.”

Contributed photo The lights at the new New Lebanon School, which opened in February, have been on through the night for the last few weeks. Electricians and engineers are working to fix the problem by or during April break.