NYC launches drone ops committee to coordinate use across agencies

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday announced the formation of the Drone Operations Committee, a group of city agency leaders that will help to coordinate drone operations across the city.

The aim of the group is to cement New York City’s position as a national leader in using drones to keep New Yorkers safe, according to a press release. Adams said agency leaders will retain control over their drone programs; participating agencies include the police, fire emergency management, parks, buildings and environmental protection departments.

Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry will chair the committee

While law enforcement use of the drones has drawn ire, Adams’ Tuesday announcement follows expansions of New York’s drone program in recent years. Last year, the NYPD shared its plans to equip aerial drones with floatation devices to help swimmers in distress. In 2023, officials launched a drone program to monitor for shark activity on Long Island. Also in 2023, the NYPD said it would respond to complaints about large, backyard parties over Labor Day weekend with surveillance drones that are part of the NYPD’s drone-as-first-responder initiative.

“Drones are the future of public safety, and under Deputy Mayor Daughtry’s leadership, New York City’s first-ever Drone Operations Committee will take this technology to the next level,” Adams said in the release. “Kaz has spent his career protecting this city and has spent much of it utilizing new technologies to keep New Yorkers safe, and now he’ll ensure that our drone operations are coordinated, strategic, and always focused on safeguarding the people of New York City.”