New York City Mayor Eric Adams is assembling an army of drones to combat surging crime in the Big Apple, according to reports.
Earlier this month, Adams reportedly attended the launch of the NYC-Israel Chamber of Commerce that featured drone manufacturers, Easy Aerial and Tel Aviv-based Blue White Robotics.
Sources said that the mayor was so impressed with the joint presentation that he began talks with his chief technology officer Matthew Fraser about the city potentially buying drones for the NYPD.
“Eric is a big booster of drones and how they can be used to streamline government function, but obviously whatever he would try to roll out would be constrained under existing laws limiting drone use,” said a source familiar with the mayor.
The drone makers, whose clients include the US Department of Defense and the Air Force, say they’ve called the plan the “Soteria Project,” which comes from a Greek word meaning “deliverance from a crisis.”
Ido Gur, CEO and Founder of Easy Aerial, said the city could respond to crimes anywhere in Manhattan in under a minute by deploying just 10 of his drones, which cost about $70,000 to $100,000 each.
“If someone fires a pistol,” the device’s case “will open and the drone will go into automation,” Gur said. “We can be onsite in a few seconds – much faster than 911.”
The drones won’t be weaponized or provide facial recognition, but they’re equipped with thermal cameras that can be used for radiation detection, among other features.
Gur said that his drones could also prevent crime by remotely setting off flashing lights and issuing voice warning over its speakers to a potential perpetrator.
Democratic State Senator Jessica Ramos detested the idea of adding more drones to the NYPD, saying that would be “irresponsible and invasive.”
“Using taxpayer dollars to buy these surveillance drones while also asking New Yorkers to accept defunded sanitation, education, and human services departments is reprehensible,” Ramos said. “What will it take to make Mayor Adams understand that the very neighborhoods he wants to circle drones over are the ones who are suffering from a lack of investment?”
Easy Aerial recently provided security during the Super Bowl and has been used by the U.S. to monitor suspicious activity along the Mexican border.
