June 10, 2025
$37 Million in Color Kinetics Fixtures Hit Auction Block
Above: Pallets of lighting fixtures sit in Putnam County warehouse; Image credit: Auctions International, Inc.
Dynamic RGBW fixtures now available at steep, government-subsidized discounts
If you own some unlit bridges — or a warehouse-sized appetite for dynamic, IP66-rated, RGBW lighting — this might be your moment.
Tucked away in a remote warehouse in sleepy Brewster, New York, thousands of never-used Color Kinetics light fixtures are headed for public auction. Still shrink-wrapped and palletized, the gear was supposed to be the crown jewel of former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s ambitious “New York Harbor of Lights" project — a $106 million plan to illuminate bridges and tunnels with theatrical flair.
Instead, the lights – many of which are out-of-warranty, now-discontinued ColorReach PowerCore fixtures – have sat collecting dust for several years. Now, with a minimum bid of just $25 per lot, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) is preparing to offload a $37 million cache of fixtures — possibly for pennies on the dollar.
The auction of the unused exterior lighting is being conducted by Auctions International, a New York-based online auction firm. The lights are being sold in new condition through an online auction that ends on Monday, June 23, 2025, at 6:25 PM ET. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is the seller, and the winning bidder is solely responsible for coordinating and covering all costs related to removal and transportation of the items from storage. Items must be picked up within 10 business days of invoice approval, and no refunds or shipping are provided.
A Vision Derailed
Announced in 2017, Cuomo’s bridge lighting initiative promised an LED-powered transformation of New York’s transit infrastructure. The plan called for dynamic, color-changing fixtures to bathe nine Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bridges and tunnels in choreographed light shows. The spectacle was meant to dazzle commuters and tourists alike, offering a civic light display to rival the Empire State Building.
But the project never got past the planning phase. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted agency priorities. Cuomo’s abrupt resignation in 2021, amid sexual misconduct allegations he denies, further destabilized the initiative. According to NYPA and reporting first surfaced by Politico, senior MTA management quietly shelved the lighting project, leaving the fixtures in limbo.
Even before they hit the auction block, the RGB units had already cost taxpayers dearly. The New York Post confirms that NYPA has spent roughly $300,000 annually just to warehouse the unused equipment, amounting to over $2 million in storage fees over eight years.
What’s Really Being Sold?
The auction listings refer to the equipment as "Philips" lighting fixtures — not “Color Kinetics.” Philips’ broader name recognition might be seen as more appealing to general auction bidders who may not be familiar with architectural lighting brands.
Image credit: Auctions International, Inc.
The original sale of the Color Kinetics fixtures, orchestrated in New York by lighting agent, Electric Lighting Agencies (ELA), were originally slated for deployment across high-profile MTA crossings. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, North America’s longest suspension bridge, was expected to be a centerpiece of the light show. Other planned sites included:
- Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
- Henry Hudson Bridge
- Hugh L. Carey Brooklyn Battery Tunnel
- Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge
- Queens Midtown Tunnel
- RFK Triborough Bridge
- Throgs Neck Bridge
- Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge
- Whitestone Bridge
The Port Authority’s Hudson River crossings and the George Washington Bridge were never included in Cuomo’s state-funded plan.
The Phone Call ELA Won't Likely Get
For the State of New York, the Harbor of Lights project now looks like a cautionary tale in mismanaged ambition. With auction prices starting low and the resale market unclear, taxpayers are unlikely to recoup even a fraction of that.
In the world of lighting reps, there’s a concept called destination credit — where a portion of the commissions follow the fixtures, even across state lines. If these Color Kinetics products are shipped out of New York, will the destination agent chase ELA for a split? The Inside Lighting I-Team will continue to monitor this developing saga.
Regardless of who walked away with a payday, New York taxpayers are left holding the bill. A project once pitched as a visionary beacon has turned into a warehouse full of squandered potential — lighting fixtures with nowhere to shine.
