FAA Expands Drone Flight Bans From New Jersey Into New York
Temporary restrictions cover 30 cities and towns, including parts of NYC near power substations.
The Federal Aviation Administration has expanded its bans on drone flights in New Jersey to its neighbor next door in New York, placing the temporary ban on 30 cities and towns in the Empire State.
The restrictions – which include swaths of airspace above Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, and Yonkers in Westchester County – prevent all aircraft, including drones, from operating in the areas listed without permission until January 19. Like the advisory issued in New Jersey on Wednesday, the bans include a radius of one nautical mile surrounding each location.
“The action is purely precautionary,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement Thursday night. “There are no threats to these sites.”
The Governor also said the state received a drone detection system earlier this week.
The restricted areas also cover numerous power substations, key points on the state’s electrical grid.
The new restrictions are in addition to advisories already placed on 22 New Jersey municipalities, including Jersey City and Camden, and ban unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, from flying within one nautical mile from restricted locations. The temporary flight restrictions have been extended from the two original locations of the Picatinny Arsenal and Trump National Golf Club Bedminster and will last at least until January 17.
Under the restrictions, drone pilots can be “intercepted, detained, and interviewed by […] law enforcement/security personnel” for violating the orders and can face a revocation of their operator’s certificates and even criminal charges.
Residents in at least 10 counties across New Jersey and parts of New York City have reported multiple drone sightings since mid-November, with some eyewitnesses saying that the drones were the size of small vehicles. The sightings also have occurred over sensitive areas, including reservoirs, powerlines, and rail stations.
Earlier this week, national security officials said that none of the sightings appear to be a sign of foreign interference or a threat to public safety, but they offered no answers as to who is responsible for the flights.