The Flip Side of New York’s Drone Regulations

 As New York City looks at passing strict limitations to drone use in the city, city officials are considering using drones for a variety of services, including fire management, natural disaster relief, traffic control, and park maintenance, the NY Daily News reports.

Agencies can see a variety of uses for drones, deputy commissioner of Emergency Management, Henry Jackson, told the City Council.

“After a large scale event, such as a coastal storm, UAVs programmed to fly over an area of damage, like the Rockaways, could be up in the air as soon as the skies clear,” he explained to the council. “The UAVs, flying back and forth in a prescribed rectangular pattern would use aerial photography to record damage from a storm.”

The NYC Parks Department is considering drones that could examine the tree canopy, finding problems early and monitoring the health conditions of the trees.  The Department of Buildings would like to use drones to perform exterior inspections of buildings.  The Department of Transportation could use drones to help with bridge inspections and realtime traffic reporting.  The FDNY would like to use “tethered” drones to get aerial footage of major fires.

While none of these ideas have been deployed yet, they demonstrate the flip side of drone use in NYC.  The bills under consideration by the council vary from a set of strict regulations banning flying in restricted areas or under broadly proscribed conditions, to a nearly complete ban on drones in the city with the exception of use by law enforcement.  Another bill asks that all drones be registered and insured.

 

City officials declined to take a position on the bills, saying they’re waiting to see what the feds will do to regulate drones; but the enthusiastic input from so many city departments presents a case for integrating drones into NYC airspace, and allowing the city to benefit from drone technology.