Drones Abuzz Over Scarsdale: What Do You Think?

Reports of drones buzzing overhead in Quaker Ridge and Greenacres on Thursday and Friday nights have residents on edge. The drones are loud enough to notice and well lit. They are flying over residential neighborhoods in the dark. The question is, why?

A Sage Terrace resident told us she was walking her dog around 6:30 pm on Thursday night December 12 when she heard and then saw a drone circulating above her home. She said it was loud, and lit up and flying lower than a helicoptor. She grabbed her camera and took a video.

And Scarsdale is not alone. There have been reports of drones sited in New Jersey, New York City, Northern Westchester, New Rochelle and Mamaroneck too. The situation was strange enough to cause the Scarsdale Police to issue this notification on Everbridge at 10:40 pm on Friday night December 13:

“The Scarsdale Police Department has received reports of potential drone sightings in the area. The matter is currently being investigated in collaboration with other state and federal law enforcement agencies. There is no evidence of any threat to public safety. If you observe any drone activity and if you have any relevant photos or videos, please contact the Scarsdale Police Department at 914-722-1200. Information obtained will be shared with the New York State Intelligence Center.

We reached out to Scarsdale Mayor Justin Arest on December 14 and he too was perplexed.

He said, “I’ve communicated directly with County Executive George Latimer, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, Senator Shelley Mayer as well as Senator Gillibrand’s office. We are all working on it. The Scarsdale Police Department is compiling data from residents on potential sightings and we will share that information with our state and federal law enforcement counterparts. We need answers and will keep pushing until we get them.”

Governor Kathy Hochul is also seeking answers. On Saturday December 14 she said that an airport in Orange County had to be shut down for an hour on Friday night due to the drones. She said, “"Last night, the runways at Stewart Airfield were shut down for approximately one hour due to drone activity in the airspace.” She said, “This has gone too far.”

Did you spot the drones? What do you think is going on? Share your thoughts in the comment section below: