I don't know if they are available for new characters or not. I'd think they are. I do know Ikora still shows them as available to my warlock. I didn't pick them up when they dropped originally. I already had the gear for warlock, so I didn't see any reason to grab them. I did grab something for my hunter and titan. (I think.) Then, when it was announced that there was a bug that would blow out your loadout, I decided no way on warlock. I'm tempted to pick something up just to get her to stop blinking at me. Then I remember the loadout issue. I've also wondered if picking it up on a not-new character is part of the issue with the "new subclass unlocked" bug. I don't want that one, so Ikora gets to keep my warlock's new-light packs.