Nearly 500 'Drone' Sightings Reported Across Long Island: Authorities

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Nearly 500 drone sightings have been reported since Nov. 1 across Long Island, law enforcement agencies said.

From Nov. 1 to Dec. 20, the Suffolk County Police Department received 161 reports of drones, according to a Freedom of Information Request filed by Patch last month.

The department declined to supply dates, times, locations, and confirmation status as to whether the sightings were founded or not because personnel would have to create a report, which the agency is not required to do according to the state's freedom of information law.

In Nassau, the department received 157 reports from Nov. 1 to Jan. 21, a police spokesperson said Wednesday.

Nassau police have previously said that it is not uncommon for residents to report drone sightings to the department, with those reports "increased significantly" over that time "due to public awareness of the activity in New Jersey," the spokesperson said.

Though, in the county, the reports have been of objects similar to personally owned recreational drones, and nothing like what is being reported in New Jersey.

One hundred and seventy-two drone sightings across Long Island, including 54 in Nassau, and 118 in Suffolk, were reported to New York State Police from November to Jan. 28, a spokesman said.

Across the state, the agency has logged 1,812, though that number includes tips that were received and not the actual number of investigations.

A lot of the tips received lacked detailed information, like missing locations, and some were only photographs or videos received without any descriptions, according to the agency.

Altogether, 490 were reported across Long Island, with the bulk coming from Suffolk at 279.

Drone sightings have become somewhat of a phenomenon in New Jersey where residents have reported seeing drones as big as cars flying over neighborhoods, and some reportedly in restricted airspaces near military bases.

There have also been sightings in Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

Residents in New York started reporting drones in New York City and across the island in both Nassau and Suffolk counties around Dec. 11.

On Dec. 12. Suffolk police initially reported receiving 16 reports on Dec. 12, and in the following days, drones were seen in Port Jefferson and near Brookhaven Laboratory in Upton, as well as on the North Fork.

In Nassau, there were 55 reports of drone sightings in the county from Dec. 13 to Dec. 16, a police spokesperson said.

Both Suffolk and Nassau officials said they were working with state and federal partners on the issue.

The following weekend, the runways at Stewart International Airport were shut down for about an hour because of dozens of drone activity in the airspace, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

In response to her calls for additional resources, the federal government deployed a state-of-the-art drone detection system across the state.

Earlier this month, Suffolk officials sounded the warning on the sightings after several reports of drones near Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton.

Sheriff Errol Toulon said that on Dec. 13, one drone was reported outside the airport, and on Dec. 17, there were four reported in and around the airport. On Christmas Eve, there were six, and Christmas Day, there were 17 drones reported, with 13 "hovering around the airspace" and three "immediately outside," he said.