New York City: the city that never sleeps. Ever wonder why that is? It’s because it’s too damn bright out there!

That might not be the case for much longer, the New York Times reports. A plan was proposed at a city council meeting Wednesday to dim the Manhattan skyline in a push to reduce New York’s environmental footprint. If enacted, the bill would limit external and internal lights in commercial buildings. According to the Times, this change could affect more than 40,000 buildings in Manhattan, changing the way we see the NYC skyline at night.

Predictably, this change was met with tension at Wednesday’s hearing. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has expressed support of a version of the bill, but others were worried about what a darker New York would do to the city at night. From the Times:

Some critics, including food industry and real estate leaders, worried that reduced lighting could affect safety.

“Security cameras would be useless in the dark, and police officers would no longer peek into darkened stores at night,” said Jay M. Peltz, general counsel for the Food Industry Alliance of New York State.

Administration officials said they shared concerns about maintaining adequate lighting to deter crime, suggesting that they would move to tweak the bill. It was not immediately clear how.

Others were slightly more sensible about the idea, considering the fact that the bill would not enforce light dimming on buildings were people work at night. Some even went so far as to suggest that the Empire State Building should be turned down a bit, which is frankly rude. Thankfully, officials disagreed, saying that certain buildings—so beautiful when they are lit up!—would be exempt if the bill passed.

Image via Getty. Contact the author at dayna.evans@gawker.com.