Over the last few weeks, New Yorkers have been reporting what they believe are drone sightings.


What You Need To Know

  • White House officials maintain the drones do not pose any public safety threats

  • NYPD officials say there's been an increase in both 911 and 311 calls. According to the department, it has received more than 120 calls over the weekend, which is compared with fewer than 100 for the month of November

  • On Sunday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state wil* receive state-of-the-art drone detection software

“Sometimes I’m questioning myself. Am I seeing a small plane or is it a drone? Rossville resident Anna Madonia said.

“They’ll just like glide up in the sky and just fly around in circles. I’ve seen like three of them in one area,” Rossville resident Salvatore Mettaliano said.

“We live in Tottenville with my kids. We go to the beach a lot. There’s always 9,000 drones,” Tottenville resident Kam Justesen said.

White House officials maintain the drones do not pose any public safety threats.

“Our assessment is that this is lawful legal commercial hobbyist and even law enforcement aircraft activity some of it’s manned and some of it’s unmanned” National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said.

NYPD officials say there’s been an increase in both 911 and 311 calls. According to the department, it has received more than 120 calls over the weekend, which is compared with fewer than 100 for the month of November.

“The actual drone activity that our detection software picks up, that our investigators have been able to discern based on the investigations they’ve been doing, is roughly commensurate with what are very busy skies around New York City on an average week where we will get upwards of 2,000 drone flights,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner said.

Elected officials across the five boroughs have been calling on the federal government to step in.

On Sunday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state will receive state-of-the-art drone detection software.

Still, New Yorkers say there are more questions than answers.

“They’re every night flying in the sky. It’s a little weird [and it] bothers me a little bit. I’d like to know what’s going on,” Mettaliano said.

“Is it recreational what’s going on? That’s all. Just try and give us a little comfort not to worry,” Madonia said.

President-elect Donald Trump has also called on the federal government to clear things, saying something strange is going on.

The governor says more needs to be done federally. She’s supporting a bill that would strengthen the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight of drones, as well as give the state enhanced resources to respond to drone sightings.