Homeowner: Long Island Village Unfairly Targeting My Christmas Light Display

FLOWER HILL, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- So much for the holiday spirit.

A Long Island couple may face a forced ban on their Christmas display this year.

The brilliant light show might be subject to permits, a restricting of hours from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. and a $100 daily fee, which they told CBS2's Jennifer McLogan they cannot afford.

Homeowner Bob Young told Newsday he believes the Village of Flower Hill's new requirements are a direct attack on his Sunnyvale Road display, which has music, synchronized blinking patterns and usually draws a pretty big crowd.

It appears it has also drawn the ire of some neighbors.

Some complain the residential road gets overrun with gawkers at Christmas time, creating safety hazards and noise that affect their quality of life.

"This law is obviously directed only at me. I'm the only one that fits the criteria they're defining," said Young, who started decorating his home and property back in 1996.

Supporters, however, are sending letters -- aware that Bob and his wife Marie lost a daughter five years ago to an eating disorder.

"My husband was thinking of not lighting the house at all, and we discussed it, and I said, 'you know Marie loved our Christmas lights and we should not stop because of her death, we should use it to make it a positive impact,'" she said.

So they expanded their display and started collecting for the charity Project Heal in their daughter's name.

Their neighbors and other local residents had mixed feelings.

"They have an obligation to tone it down," one man said.

"It comes to a certain time of the evening when you have to turn down the music," another man added.

"I don't necessarily have a problem with that," said another man.

"Leave it up, leave it alone," one woman said. "I am happy with Christmas all the time."

A public hearing on the proposed lightning and exhibition law is scheduled for the next village board meeting on May 7.

"If every jurisdiction on Long Island had this law that Flower Hill is proposing, there would be no longer a need to look at Christmas lights, because there'd be nothing worth looking at."

The deputy mayor said the proposal does not require a permit for normal, everyday use of Christmas or other holiday lighting.