Mayor Adams Considers Adding High-Flying Police Drones to Get NYC Crime Under Control

By Yehudit Garmaise

Could high-flying police drones: equipped with optical, zoom, and thermal cameras be what the NYPD needs to get crime under control in New York City?

Mayor Eric Adams is considering investing in a mini-army of police drones, after he heard two companies: Blue White Robotics, of Tel Aviv, and Easy Aerial of Brooklyn, speak at the Williamsburg Hotel, earlier in March.

After the two companies, whose clients include the US Department of Defense, the US Air Force, and US Customs and Border Protection, explained their drones’ features, Adams was reportedly so impressed that he proposed that Matthew Fraser, NYC’s chief technology officer, speak with the firms’ CEOs about potentially buying drones for the NYPD.

Ido Gur, Easy Aerial’s CEO, whose motto is “an eye in the sky in zero time,” said that by deploying just 10 of his drones, the city could respond to crimes anywhere in Manhattan within 60 seconds.

The drones, which some call “aerial cops,” will not be armed, but their thermal cameras allow for night vision that collect video feeds that can be transmitted to the NYPD Command Center and police officers’ cell phones.

Mayor Adams, who often talks about the importance of police enforcement of not just quickly responding to crime, but working to prevent crime, was likely quite interested in how cops could monitor drones remotely to help stop crimes before they occur.

For instance, if potential perpetrators are spotted, police officers can tell the drones to set off flashing lights and issue voice warnings, such as, “Move away!” over its speakers.

For high-crime areas of the city, Adams is “very interested” in putting drones along rooftops and connecting the drones to the Police Department’s ShotSpotter gunfire-recognition system, the mayor told Gur and Blue White Robotics CEO Ben Alfi.

Gur reported that Adams planned to soon visit the Easy Ariel drone factory, which is located at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the New York Post reported.