New York governor demands action on mystery drones after airfield shut down: ‘This has gone too far’
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New York Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on Washington to do more about the mysterious drones spotted in recent weeks above the Northeast.
The governor said in a statement on Saturday on X that drone activity prompted officials to shut down Stewart Airfield in New Windsor for about an hour last night.
“This has gone too far,” Hochul said in the statement, calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, a bill that would reform drone policy and hand more authority over to states.
“Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our criitcal infrastructure and our people,” Hochul added.
The Orange County airport is adjacent to the New York Air National Guard base that houses the 105th Airlift Wing, according to The New York Post.
Runways were closed between 9:40pm and 10:45pm, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told the paper, saying there were “no impacts to flight operations during the closure.”
Hochul isn’t the first New York official to sound the alarm.
“The people of Staten Island deserve answers, and the people of this city and state and region deserve answers of what the heck is going on,” Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said of recent citings about New York City.
Residents and elected officials have been reporting sightings of the drones since last month, particularly in New Jersey.
Hochul’s plea for more authorities follows a request on Thursday from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy for further efforts to probe the drone phenomenon.
He similarly complained that existing drone policies left local authorities “hamstrung.”
“This leaves action surrounding the (drones) squarely on the shoulders of the federal government,” Murphy wrote. “More federal resources are needed to understand what is behind this activity.”
Murphy has said there’s no evidence the aircraft are a national security or public safety risk. The Pentagon has said they are not U.S. military drones.
Defense officials have also shot down theories that the drones are coming from an offshore Iranian ship.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejando Mayorkas told CNN on Friday many of the sightings were “a case of mistaken identity,” with residents mistaking regular aircraft for drones, and multiple sightings of the same aircraft from different people making reports seem more common than they are.
Homeland Security is in regular contact with New Jersey officials and has deployed experts and monitoring equipment to the state.
“We have not seen any unusual activity. We know of no threat. We know of no nefarious activity,” Mayorkas said, adding “technology has not confirmed any drone sighting.”
President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on Friday, calling on the airborne objects to be shot down.
“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country,” he wrote on Truth Social. “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!”
