Greene Avenue Drone Operator Arrest One Of Growing Number In NYC

A Bushwick man was arrested last month for piloting a drone over Greene Avenue, according to police.

Two NYPD helicopter pilots spotted the vessel advancing towards them as they searched rooftops for a missing person in the early morning hours of September 17. The pilots called off their initial search to avoid colliding with the drone, which reportedly came within 50 feet of their aircraft as they hovered at about 800 feet–then followed it to the home of 34-year-old operator Isaac Rosa.

A flood of New Yorkers piloting drones is posing a problem for the NYPD’s aviation unit, police said in a release last night. Laws about personal drone use in NYC are foggy, and lagging far behind the vehicles’ increasing popularity and attainability–but piloting drones in a place or way deemed irresponsible by cops could still land operators in trouble.

“What you’re seeing is popularity because [drones] don’t require any particular expertise to get going,” lawyer Brendan M. Schulman, who represents several drone operators, told The New York Times in August. “What you’re seeing is people buying these devices off the shelf and operating them without any experience or training because they’re easy to use.”

Apparently not that easy, though, as the article notes several drones that have crashed in NYC, and some that “have been known to fly off and not come back.” In addition to the possibility of collisions, there is concern over drones equipped with camera’s–as Rosa’s was–conducting unlawful surveillance. Rosa has been charged with reckless endangerment, which carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison; obstructing governmental administration; and “several additional U.S. Code violations.”

“There are lots more [drones] coming,” said Officer Tarek Otero–a helicopter pilot who’s been with the NYPD for 22 years and who was reportedly called out to search for a drone at about 4,000 feet near the Verrazano Bridge only yesterday–in last night’s release.

“It’s extremely dangerous for everyone,” said Otero, who was unable to locate the vessel.

If you’re interested in more information about responsible, legal operation of drones, you can find locations of model aircraft fields here, or get in touch with the NYC Drone Users Group here.

Photo by Don McCullough