Steady state excitation and emission, luminescence decay, and time resolved spectroscopy measurements have been performed in order to study the Ni2+ neighborhood and its optical properties in fluorochloro and fluorobromo-zirconate glasses. The results have been interpreted in terms of the progressive substitution of the fluorine ions in the first coordination shell of Ni2+ by chlorine or bromine ions when their concentration increases in the glasses. Up to four Ni2+ environments have been identified and assigned to 6F(-), 5F(-) and 1Cl(-) or 1Br(-),1F(-) and 5Cl(-) or 5Br(-), and 6Cl(-) or 6Br(-); according to previous absorption results. The luminescence results indicate that there is no emission of the Ni2+ ions in NiCl2 and NiBr2 crystals inside the glasses. Values for the Stokes shift and the Huang-Rhys factor have been estimated from the absorption and luminescence data for the hexacoordinated vitreous environments of Ni2+. The luminescence decay and time resolved measurements of the T-1(2g)(D) level of Ni2+ have been explained by the presence of two mechanisms, nonradiative transitions and cross relaxation processes.