Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Real Estate Architect Busted for Operating Drone in Brooklyn Heights

 A drone flew near Brooklyn high rise buildings Thursday. The picture shows a drone of a different model.
A drone flew near Brooklyn high rise buildings Thursday. The picture shows a drone of a different model.
View Full Caption
Flickr/WalterPro4755

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS - The drone operator who was found pointing a camera into high-rise buildings in Brooklyn Heights on Thursday has been issued a summons by the police, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports.

An NYPD spokesperson told reporters at the paper that the drone belonged to a real estate architect working at 189 Montague Street, near the Borough Hall subway station.

189 Montague is one of three Montague Street properties owned by the real estate company Treeline Companies. Treeline Companies did not answer calls from DNAinfo on Tuesday.

According to the police source cited by the Brooklyn Eagle, the real estate architect was using the drone to take pictures for his architectural work.

The drone was in the air for "several minutes" and hovered as far as 30 floors up, according to the Brooklyn Eagle. It was also spotted outside the offices of EBrooklyn Media, which owns several news outlets including The Eagle.

Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, as they are referred to by the Federal Aviation Administration, are not allowed to fly at an altitude higher than 500 ft above ground level, the agency wrote in a draft ruling issued in February. It is not clear how high the drone flew in Thursday's incident.

However, the Brooklyn Eagle reports, the drone operator let his device hover above the sidewalk on Montague Street, breaking another FAA rule prohibiting drones to be operated "over any persons not directly involved in the operation."