FAA expands drone ban to critical infrastructure sites in New York State

NEW YORK (WABC) — A large number of mysterious drones reported flying over New York and New Jersey has prompted the FAA to take action.

The FAA has now temporarily banned drone operations in multiple areas of New York, citing “special security” reasons. This means no drones can be operated in those areas unless granted special permission from the government.

The temporary flight restrictions (TFR) have been implemented in the following locations starting Friday, December 20, 2024, until January 19, 2025: LaGuardia, Brooklyn, Garden City, Far Rockaway and Ridge.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Thursday night, the FAA’s plans to grant temporary flight restrictions over some of the state’s “critical infrastructure sites.”

The governor said the action is “precautionary,” and there are no threats to these sites.

“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,” she said in a statement. “Public safety is my top priority and I will stop at nothing to keep my constituents safe.”

She says these new measures are in addition to the state-of-the-art drone detection system delivered to the state by the Biden-Harris administration earlier in the week.

Similar action was taken by the FAA in New Jersey as well.

The FAA banned drone operations in several areas of the Garden State until January 17 without special permission from the government due to “special security reasons.”

The temporary flight restrictions (TFR) have been implemented in the following locations starting December 18, 2024 until January 17, 2025: Hamilton, Bridgewater, Cedar Grove, North Brunswick, Metuchen, Evesham, Camden, Gloucester City, Westampton, South Brunswick, Edison, Branchburg, Sewaren, Jersey City, Harrison, Elizabeth, Bayonne, Winslow, Burlington, Clifton, Hancocks Bridge, Kearny.

The efforts come as anxiety over the mysterious drone sightings grows among residents and local lawmakers.

White House officials, national security spokesman John Kirby, continue to stress that the federal government has yet to identify any public safety or national security risks from any of the reported drone sightings in the northeast. They say they believe they were lawfully flown drones, planes or even stars.

“There are more than 1 million drones that are lawfully registered with the Federal Aviation Administration here in the United States,” Kirby said. “And there are thousands of commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones that are lawfully in the sky on any given day. That is the ecosystem that we are dealing with.”

The federal government has deployed personnel and advanced technology to investigate the reports in New Jersey and other states, and is evaluating each tip reported by citizens, he said.

About 100 of the more than 5,000 drone sightings reported to the FBI in recent weeks were deemed credible enough to warrant more investigation, according to a joint statement by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense.

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