The Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary flight restrictions for unmanned aircraft or drones over 30 locations in New York state, including over parts of New York City to include Brooklyn, Queens, and communities on Long Island amid growing concern about drone sightings near vital infrastructure areas.
The new bans, listed on the agency's website Friday, came after similar measures were taken in most of New Jersey, where only drones being flown by operators with special permission from the government will be allowed until Jan. 17.
The restrictions in New York last to Jan. 18.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement late Thursday, before the New York sites were announced, that the regions involved include "some of New York's critical infrastructure sites" but added that the "action is purely precautionary. There are no threats to these sites," reported NBC10 in New York.
"This is in addition to the state-of-the-art drone detection system delivered to us by the Biden-Harris administration earlier this week," she said. "While we have not detected any public safety or national security threats, we will continue aggressively monitoring the situation as we call on Congress to pass legislation to give states and local law enforcement the authority and resources they need to manage this evolving technology. Public safety is my top priority and I will stop at nothing to keep my constituents safe."
The New York no-fly zones include two communities on Long Island, Ridge, and Garden City, as well as Far Rockaway in Queens and Brooklyn.
As of Friday morning, airspace restrictions were imposed through Jan. 18 in various parts of the following locations across the state: New York City; New Hyde Park; Glenwood Landing: Garden City; Commack; Lynbrook; Oceanside; Roslyn Heights; Staten Island; Bronx; New Castle; Holbrook; Holtsville; Queens; Shoreham; Hicksville; Yonkers; Setaiket; Melville; Northport; Calverton; Far Rockaway; Brooklyn; Ridge.
According to the FAA, Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) are defined as being for areas of airspace where aircraft operations are limited for temporary hazardous conditions; a security-related event; or special situations such as VIP movement.
The restrictions for New York and New Jersey were termed as being for "special security reasons," and ordered that special permission must be in place for anyone to fly a drone, or unmanned aircraft system, during the restriction period.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the FAA no-fly restrictions were made for drones only, not for manned aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters.
The agency told NBC10 that pilots who violate the restrictions can face sanctions ranging from "warnings or fines to certificate suspensions or revocations. The sanction depends on the circumstances of the violation."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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