On a main sign-like structure were four boxes measuring 8 by 10 by 2 feet (2.44 m × 3.05 m × 0.61 m) with images silk-screened on the back dealing with contemporary social issues.

Behind and above the main steel structure that held these boxes were four rows of brightly painted tin stars that spun in the wind, a metaphor for the cosmos.

Some city officials found the work to be offensive, and Mayor Jimmy Griffin ordered it removed on November 20, 5 days after initial lighting.

Lawless sued, claiming that his rights were being infringed; the city contended that the sculpture, as erected, was not representative of the model they had been presented with.

Years later in a 2014 interview, when Lawless was asked if he would bring the Green Lightning sculpture back to Buffalo, he replied "Any time".