Zinc lights in Cambridge’s NorthPoint have to stay off: Judge

A Massachusetts Land Court judge has ruled that the LED lights atop the Zinc apartment complex in Cambridge’s NorthPoint area have to stay off.

The decision likely ends a saga that stretches back to at least early 2016, when neighbors of the then-year-old development complained about the brightness of the lighting. One resident complained that it was “turning Cambridge into Little Tokyo.”

The city responded to the complaints with an order for Zinc to turn off the lights. The lights went off in January 2016, but the complex, which Monogram Residential owns, sued Cambridge in Land Court in October.

The decision this August likely ends any attempt to turn the incandescence back on, though Zinc does have the option of asking Cambridge’s Planning Board to make an exception for the lighting.

Some nearby residents would rather that didn’t happen, according to Cambridge Day’s John Hawkinson—or, if it does, that Zinc requests lighting that isn’t so bright.

• Court ruling: Lights must stay off atop Zinc, but apartment owners can ask board anew [Day]
• Cambridge Ablaze With Fight Over Lights on Newer Buildings [Curbed Boston]