BROOKLYN — A drone store that promises to meet "all your aerial photo and video needs" is opening soon on Fourth Avenue and Third Street.
Brooklyn Drones NYC will open within the next two months at 315 Fourth Ave. with plans to add a backyard "flight cage" where customers can take drones for test drives.
Co-owner Roger Kapsalis, a former commercial real estate broker, said he bought his first drone a year ago and was immediately smitten with the unmanned devices.
"You get this first person view of the sky and it kinds of feels like you're flying," said Kapsalis, who is opening the store with co-owner Laura Hopgood. "It's a completely different view that mere mortals haven’t seen before. It's really an immersive experience.”
Kapsalis wants to use Brooklyn Drones NYC to "spread the good word and the love" about drones, he said.
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The shop will be staffed by experienced drone pilots and will offer classes on how to fly the machines. Brooklyn Drones NYC will also arrange trips to picturesque spots such as the Catskills, where drone photographers can spread their wings and collect images.
The shop will take over the entire 1,250 square foot first floor space at 315 Fourth Ave., which was formerly split between two businesses: Two Moon Art House & Cafe and Bit o' Sweet candy shop.
The shop will be among the first in the city devoted exlusively to the unmanned flying devices, according to CPEX Real Estate, which arranged the 10-year lease.
The store will not only sell drones, it will also repair them and display photos taken by drones in an in-store art gallery, the Commercial Observer first reported.
Under federal regulations, as of Jan. 1, drones of a certain size must be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration or risk fines or even imprisonment.
