It’s an old City Regulation. Originally it was meant for other types of aircraft but because Drones are considered aircrafts the Regulation applies the same. The Regulation is in Sec. 10-126 of the New York City Administrative Code.
Take off in Brooklyn or NJ next to the water where the FAA authorizes it and don’t fly over anyone or land. You get some great footage. Perfectly legal.
Yea, which I'm not going to care about since no normal person is going to give a shit and call 911 on me. I also wonder how my cousin's wedding videographer was allowed to do it then.
Everything is against the law, but you won't get in trouble unless you're a menace. Like no one is going to care if I'm in a public park practicing at a low altitude.
Quick update on locations; Corona park is now paid membership as well. Forest park is just a BS 50ft. circle in a cemetery surrounded by tress, don't even bother going there.
No. The only thing being under 250g lets you do is to not have to register your done with the FAA. That's it. You still have to follow all the other regulations other done pilots need to follow
Only the FAA has jurisdiction over airspace, so NYC’s law is illegal.. BUT, they can make laws as to where you can take off and land, so you best be clever and secretive in where you do it
I live in Staten Island and I’ve had cops approach me and ask questions and actually enjoyed watching. As far as Brooklyn some give issues but I challenge my federal rights and most of the time I win.
harold505 I've seen videos of cops in Brooklyn politely asking people to stop flying, but I have yet to see evidence of anyone getting arrested for anything beyond crashes. And to your experience, I imagine many cops aren't fully informed on drone regulations, so when you say the FAA allows it, I could imagine that defense working well. Crashes are a lot easier to see that someone is in the wrong.
Hugh, I have an answer for you in our latest episode: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-y-yd4ricthg.html I would think so. But as you probably noticed, the NYC law is so vague, I suppose someone could claim that you're violating the law.
Brilliant! Griffin you are running at full speed! I am so happy to see you develop in this medium. This is one of your best videos ever. You are a star now, soon to be Superstar. I truly admire your work. Best, Terme
This was pretty amazing and very informative. Just wondering hypothetically of course if I was to fly my drone over the East River back in 2016 for non commercial purposes that would be ok right? Just asking for a friend.
When I was a kid growing up in Manhattan I lived in a hi-rise building. Every night I would pull out my binoculars and watch people screwing in the surrounding buildings. That is the real reason you can't fly a drone in NYC.
@Ghostface Incorrect, there has been no sweeping federal rulings on the legality of drones spying inside of homes, but some individual states like Pennsylvania have deemed it illegal.
He no longer fly's in NYC(He did get visit from FAA I believe), last time he flew was from a boat lol. outside NFZ in NYC. Unfortunately, its now just easier to buy stock drone footage for content .
@@mymillenniumgroup people understand they can buy stock drone footage. You can buy stock footage for anything. It's about the experience and the fact that you made and shot it all your self. You're obviously not a drone pilot.
@@bigboat8329 Well you obviously did not read or understand my comment. Im saying if its illegal, its easier to get stock footage( I am talking about NYC in particular).. Please do not make assumptions about me or what I can or "can-not" do. I 100% prefer to get my own content, but if its against the law, and or too hard to get permit then what is the alternative?
On airman there's parts of brooklyn that are not restricted by the beaches and I'm sure if you fly over the water there's no one's head to fly over BUT the only unlawful thing you could be doing is the nypd saying it's illegal lol which isn't really LEGAL. They can bother you or they cannot up to them
Yes-there are parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn where you're far enough from airports that the FAA doesn't restrict the airspace. BUT-the FAA also says you can't fly over people. AND-New York City says you can't fly regardless what the FAA says. That's why it's so confusing.
So you said it’s not a clearly defined law passed by any legislative body and it was just a sentence NYC wrote in 2016? Second question, so the only people who are getting fined or arrested are the ones causing property damage or injury to people?
Informative video but most of the parks are now member paid as well...such as flushing meadows...and worst is they are so small..but I guess better than not being able to fly.at all....so depressing.
Do not take that rule to serious, also electric bikes are forbidden in NYC and they do not get tickets. I guess only is you damage property you get in trouble.
I see that you're showing Yonkers as a legal fly zone. Can anyone confirm flying in Yonkers, or crossing the hudson river from Yonkers with a DJI mavic mini to New Jersey is legal?
Technically, that 4th one you brought up about local laws isn't legal. As long as you satisfy the first 3, you're legally flying. Localities are not allowed to place laws banning aircraft. Only the FAA can control the airspace.
You're right about the FAA claiming exclusive authority to regulate navigable airspace, superseding local authority. www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-statement-federal-vs-local-drone-authority But drones fly much lower than airplanes, can't travel as far, and the pilot doesn't go along for the ride. So you could be subject to local laws about taking off and landing, privacy issues. And perhaps if it went to court, a judge may agree with you that the City of New York can't regulate the drone flying through airspace. But can the City of New York regulate you, the pilot standing on the ground? Maybe they can simply say, no *operating* drones in NYC. I don't know! I agree that the NYC administrative code sounds like an overreach. But it's ultimately up to a judge to decide.
You will be surprised to know how much "hobbyist" pilots actually own their FAA part 107, probably way more than actual professional aerial pilots or other professional youtubers/vloggers out there :) No multirotors ever hit an airplane wing and i don't think it will be even possible in real time situations, that's just crazy fantasy from most anti-drone ignorant people in their political agenda lol Great video as always! You portrayed the limits and the hassles of UAVs regulations pretty well and the reality of the situation is that these regulations don't even make flying this type of aircrafts even safer ;) Have a great weekend and keep on flying legally and safely :)
I honestly use drones to cast my fishing line. I don’t care about the laws because all my “flights” don’t go over 40 feet and 300 feet away from me........
Can we fly starting from Roosevelt Island and staying over water under 400 feet? I do the same here at Montreal often starting from near st-lawrence river and stay over water during my flight, never have problems, i have perfect downtown view :).
Eugene Spagnuolo That's the case, but that makes it an "administrative code" the city has the authority to enforce. In practice, though, I'm seeing the city charge drone crashers with "reckless endangerment" and "property damage."
great video bro so educative and well explained, thanks for sharing your knowledge with the comunity, i always hear casey saying AFA i mnot flying a drone or is a toy dron donot bother me anymore, now i know why
Thanks for this informative vid! From what I gather here (and by looking at Airmap and knowing the regs) it would seem that, while NYC allows drone flight, Flushing Meadows Corona and Forest Park are in Class-B airspace and definitely require FAA notification, correct? Airmap has LAANC built in. In your video, it seems that you implied that getting LAANC permission in Class-B was something that only people with commercial UAS license could do, but I suspect that recreational (non-licensed) operators can do the same - provided that their drones are fed registered, correct? Thanks for your help!
Henry Hey, Hobbyists have different FAA rules than Part 107 pilots, and I believe they have to call up airports within 5 miles before takeoff, even at designated model aircraft fields. I don't know about other apps, but I think AirMap's LAANC functionality is limited to Part 107 pilots.
Are there exceptions if you’re an employee for a construction/real estate/journalism company? Given the use of drones in those industries, and the fact that New York is a major area for all three, there must be some kind of permit, or clearance that can be acquired for specific sites. Any info on that would be greatly appreciated
I think if you have access to roof top of some buildings, no one knows you are flying. If you start from ground level, you will get caught. Think how crowded are the streets and parks in NYC.
Does somebody know if it is legal to fly above the Hudson? As long as you stay away from any restricted Airspaces you should be good to go, right? The river should not count as a part of New York City?
Can't fly over people? well there goes that chase filmed basically only with drone shots or that shootout or fistfight shot only with drones! or that long cityscape plate shot
As liberal NYC is, this is probably the most restricted mega-cities in the world. And it sucks! Of course, there are exceptions, when the rules don't apply to .... well, if you watch the news you know. Let's just leave it at that..... :P
Staten Island is one of the five boroughs that's included in "New York City." But there is a model aircraft field in Staten Island-La Tourette Park-where flying is allowed.
@@GriffinHammond 😲😲😲 and its a 2 years old video. Any good things happened meanwhile ? I recently got air 2s one month ago. Taking videos from exchange place of nyc skyline. Any places for flying in nyc !!!
I've used it, but it's not a great app. AirMap uses the same source material, but presents it really nicely. I also love the app KittyHawk for looking at airspace and weather before flights.
@@GriffinHammond Yeah, I find B4UFLY to be too slow and buggy. I am downloading AirMap now. Will check out KittyHawk too. Thanks for the informative video!
Tj Baysinger Kittyhawk is great, because the pro features used to require an annual subscription. But then Kittyhawk decided they could make all their revenue from their enterprise products, so they made the app free!
10-126 Avigation in and over the city. a. Definitions. When used in this section the following words or terms shall mean or include: 1. "Aircraft." Any contrivance, now or hereafter invented for avigation or flight in the air, including a captive balloon, except a parachute or other contrivance designed for use, and carried primarily as safety equipment. 2. "Place of landing." Any authorized airport, aircraft landing site, sky port or seaplane base in the port of New York or in the limits of the city. 3. "Limits of the city." The water, waterways and land under the jurisdiction of the city and the air space above same. 4. "Avigate." To pilot, steer, direct, fly or manage an aircraft in or through the air, whether controlled from the ground or otherwise. 5. "Congested area." Any land terrain within the limits of the city. 6. "Person." A natural person, co-partnership, firm, company, association, joint stock association, corporation or other like organization. b. Parachuting. It shall be unlawful for any person to jump or leap from an aircraft in a parachute or any other device within the limits of the city except in the event of imminent danger or while under official orders of any branch of the military service. c. Take offs and landings. It shall be unlawful for any person avigating an aircraft to take off or land, except in an emergency, at any place within the limits of the city other than places of landing designated by the department of transportation or the port of New York authority. d. Advertising. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to use, suffer or permit to be used advertising in the form of towing banners from or upon an aircraft over the limits of the city, or to drop advertising matter in the form of pamphlets, circulars, or other objects from an aircraft over the limits of the city, or to use a loud speaker or other sound device for advertising from an aircraft over the limits of the city. Any person who employs another to avigate an aircraft for advertising in violation of this subdivision shall be guilty of a violation hereof. 2. Any person who employs, procures or induces another to operate, avigate, lend, lease or donate any aircraft as defined in this section for the purpose of advertising in violation of this subdivision shall be guilty of a violation hereof. 3. The use of the name of any person or of any proprietor, vendor or exhibitor in connection with such advertising shall be presumptive evidence that such advertising was conducted with his or her knowledge and consent. e. Dangerous or reckless operation or avigation. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or avigate an aircraft either on the ground, on the water or in the air within the limits of the city while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, narcotics or other habit-forming drugs, or to operate or avigate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger life or property of another. In any proceeding or action charging careless or reckless operation or avigation of aircraft in violation of this section, the court, in determining whether the operation or avigation was careless or reckless, shall consider the standards for safe operation or avigation of aircraft prescribed by federal statutes or regulations governing aeronautics. f. Air traffic rules. It shall be unlawful for any person to navigate an aircraft within the limits of the city in any manner prohibited by any provision of, or contrary to the rules and regulations of, the federal aviation administration. g. Reports. It shall be unlawful for the operator or owner of an aircraft to fail to report to the police department within ten hours a forced landing of aircraft within the limits of the city or an accident to an aircraft where personal injury, property damage or serious damage to the aircraft is involved. h. Rules and regulations. The police commissioner is authorized to make such rules and regulations as the commissioner may deem necessary to enforce the provisions of this section. i. Violations. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Nice to see Griffin has expanded the usage of the word "drone". He did the same with "filmmaker" many years ago and incurred the wrath of one commentator. 😂
Damn, that footage of the drone hitting the airplane wing. To be honest, I'm glad people can't fly drones over NYC at will. If permitted, can you imagine how many morons....I mean "inexperienced pilots" would be crashing into buildings/people?
Don't worry too much, the collision is impossible in real life- they used impossible collision speeds and an old, hardly used model of light aircraft (wing ) to create the scariest video footage possible- the reality is that you're more likely to win the lottery than have your plane downed by hitting a drone. Don't buy into the hysteria...
Saying that collision is not possible is wrong. Having worked at a major airport for 24 years as an air traffic controller, we see reports of bird strikes all the time that cause serious damage to aircraft.
I wonder can you fly a drone that high where it can affect aircrafts? I get the taking of and landing altitudes but my question - is the wing made out of paper that a drone can run into it and tear the wing apart? I get the idea of horror but the illustration makes the wing seem virtually unstable. I'd be more concerned about the wings supporting the plane than if a drone hits it... which this video kind of... as they say "frighten me"
U gotta have this can't do that. It's a joke. Soo many tv networks and others have flown over areas we're it's prohibited. Do how ya feel but understand and accept the risk u take
At 1:24, you can see English and Spanish are the first two languages on the sign. There's a large Chinese-speaking population in NYC. I was curious just now, so I looked it up some 2017 data from the city: out of 8 million residents, nearly 2 million speak Spanish, just over half a million speak Chinese.
don't take it too hard you would crash too, somebody beat you to the punch, serious, too much Wi-FI--too much RFI, means radio frequency interference. the drone signal is very weak so they get over ride by electronics.
I live in NYC and my wife and 2 year old son saw a drone flying close to our roof and spying through my back window. It was hovering over our backyard for two minutes. How do I know it's not a house robber or pedophile looking to kidnap my son. The drone flew off very quickly and we never saw who was flying it. My wife and I are terrified what should we do?
At 1:57, your eyes seem to be missing that it's the drone that disintegrates and comes to a complete stop, after impacting that Mooney M20 light aircraft wing.
@@rhyslogan127 ya it was a mix of the test method and speeds it was done at... more a scare tactic/hit piece on drones/quads than real scientific data of real world circumstances.
not to disregard the concern for terrorism or flight crashes due to droning, we should have regulation to fly if within a certain airspace. yeah I get it, nyc population is dense and imagine if just 1/4 of the population who can afford to have a drone had one? our overhead skies would be filled with them day and night. I mean they have technology for so much surveillance so why not create a frequency barrier that shuts the drone down to prevent a drone from reaching altitudes that could cause damage in airspace. I guess I put it out into the universe and someones got an idea already but that could be a solution instead of just basically just saying its federally regulated. how do we ever expect to get to the flying cars our school teachers said we would have by the year 2000... oh that was just fluff to keep our imaginations suspended in mid air.. .lol
Makes perfect sense to me why drones are illegal in NYC. If for no other reason, we're talking the top terrorist-targeted city in the US...and how hard would it be for terrorists to arm a few drones?