July 3, 2025
Mystery Buyer Snags $37 Million of Color Kinetics Gear for $383K
Above: Pallets of never-used Color Kinetics lighting and controls products sit in a warehouse in Brewster, New York. Photo credit: Auctions International
Never used, out-of-warranty warehouse of goods sold for a penny on the dollar
It was supposed to bathe New York’s bridges in a theatrical wash of dynamic RGBW light — instead, it sold to an anonymous bidder for a penny on the dollar.
Last week, New York Power Authority’s surplus auction officially closed on a warehouse lot of never-used Philips Color Kinetics fixtures, originally bought for former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “New York Harbor of Lights” project. The winning bid: $383,100 — for what was once a $37 million stash.
A Plan Derailed, A Mystery Buyer
Back in 2017, Cuomo pitched a bold idea: iconic crossings like the Verrazzano-Narrows and the Queens Midtown Tunnel would pulse with choreographed light shows, transforming daily commutes into nightly spectacles. But the lights never got wired up. Political scandal, a pandemic, and shifting priorities left the fixtures shrink-wrapped in Brewster, New York — racking up over $2 million in storage fees along the way.
The auction, run by Auctions International, promised a final chance to reclaim some taxpayer money. But the sale only raised a fraction — and the gear, much of it discontinued and believed to be out of warranty, will now head wherever the winning bidder ships it.
“Chicago_WR”: A Clue, or a Decoy?
Inside Lighting watched the final moments unfold as online bidder ‘Chicago_WR’ edged out the competition with a total of 168 bids, securing the lot for $383,100 plus an additional $49,000 commission paid to the auction house. Who they are remains unknown — the name could point to Chicagoland, or just as easily be a decoy.
These fixtures are no toys for a weekend smart home enthusiast. They’re heavy-duty, IP66-rated architectural gear, once meant to light up the Hudson and East Rivers. Will Chicago_WR flip them to another city’s skyline? Slip them into some lucrative retrofits? Or stash them away to parts unknown?
Inside Lighting’s public records request to the New York Power Authority on June 25 was formally acknowledged but, as of publication, the agency has not provided the information identifying the winning bidder.
For now, New York taxpayers are left with the bill, an empty warehouse, and lingering questions. One thing’s certain: someone just bought a warehouse of cold, commercial-grade ambition — and maybe a shot at a second act.
