A friend just got a 1999 Acura TL. Simple question, does it have xeon headlights?

 

yes

 

Except in NYC or NJ area, there it has two empty light sockets.

 

Nope. But it may have xenon headlights!

 

What it has & this is straight from the 1999 ACURA 3.2 TL catalog. It has HIGH-INTENSITY DISCHARGE (HID) HEADLIGHTS. The brilliant blue-white light of the HID headlights gives you dramatically enhanced vision, increased energy efficiency and improved lamp durabilty. So the xenon is the gas inside them I refer to them as HID

 

The stock 1999-2001 TL HID lights will appear brighter than the 2002-2003 models. The 2002-2003 due to design change do have better light. But the 1999 stock lights work very well also.
Xenon (HID) headlights throw a longer more focused beam of light.