'This has gone too far': Gov. Kathy Hochul sounds alarm after drone activity shuts down NY airport
NEW YORK -- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is sounding the alarm on recent sightings of drones across New York after suspected drone activity shut down an airport in Orange County.
According to the Port Authority, Stewart Airport temporarily closed its runways around 9:40 p.m. on Friday following a report from the FAA about a nearby drone sighting. Officials say the runways were eventually reopened and that there were no impacts to flight operations during the closure.
"Last night, the runways at Stewart Airfield were shut down for approximately one hour due to drone activity in the airspace. This has gone too far," Hochul said in a statement.
The airport closure comes after several reports of drone sightings all over the Tri-State area. Concerns continue to grow over recent sightings of drones across New York and New Jersey, fueling questions about people's safety and privacy.
In one of the latest incidents, video shows a police helicopter overnight hovering around East 42nd Street and FDR Drive, near the United Nations headquarters, after reports of a suspected drone sighting.
Officials later determined there was no drone activity found.
The drone incidents across the Tri-State area are prompting lawmakers to call on both local and federal authorities to investigate the growing number of drone sightings.
On Friday, Borough President Vito Fossella and local elected officials issued a call for the New York City Police Department to investigate the sightings of drones over Staten Island.
Fossella urged federal officials to provide more answers to the residents of the Northeast who are witnessing these drones.
The borough president poised the question, "What if there were 3,000 reports of drones or manned aircraft sightings over the US Capitol or the White House or the State House in Albany?" Fossella said there would be an immediate and intense response to figure out what they were and solve the problem, yet the residents of New Jersey and Staten Island have received nothing.
Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is also weighing in on the matter, telling Eyewitness News on Saturday he is surprised that the federal government does not seem to know much about what is flying above his state.
Just the day before, officials said there were "multiple" instances of drones spotted entering the airspace at a Navy weapons station.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint statement on the reported drone sightings in New Jersey, saying they have "no evidence" that the sightings "pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus."
Despite this, Murphy says he wants better tracking of drones.
The Garden State Governor says he may travel to Washington D.C. next week to seek answers, including why legislation that gives more power to state and local officials to investigate the recent drone sightings hasn't been passed. Murphy also plans to call for more federal resources to address the ongoing sightings.
There is also a concern that drones may be sharing airspace with commercial airlines.
New York State Police said in a statement that they have received "numerous" reports of drone sightings over the past 24 hours and are "investigating each report and sharing information with our federal and local law enforcement partners through the New York State Intelligence Center."
However, they added that they have "no evidence" at this point that any of the reported sightings pose a public safety risk.
The White House said Thursday that a review of the reported sightings shows that many of them are manned aircraft being flown lawfully.
The FAA is responsible for the regulations governing drone use, and Congress has written some requirements into law.
You need to have a license to fly one and there are some restrictions by the FAA on nighttime operations. Most drones are not allowed to fly at night unless they are equipped with anti-collision lights that are visible for at least 3 miles (4.8 kilometers).
One tool you can use to see what is above you in the sky is FlightAware.
Some information from the Associated Press.
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