By Hank Russell
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the Suffolk County Police Department to confirm a news report that 16 phone calls came into the department about drones flying over Long Island.
A spokesperson for the SCPD said the agency received the phone calls on December 12, starting at around 5:30 p.m. Since the sightings could not be confirmed, it could not be determined where exactly in Suffolk the drones were flying.
This comes after residents in New Jersey spotted a multitude of drones — some as large as six feet in diameter — flying over the state. While local elected officials called for the military to shoot the remote-controlled flying machines down, the federal government has stated that they pose no threat whatsoever.
Over the past week, drone sightings have been reported in New York City, Pennsylvania and Maryland. As sightings spread across the eastern seaboard, many elected officials are calling on the federal government — namely the military, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Homeland Security — to look into this matter.
Governor Kathy Hochul took to X (formerly Twitter) to address the situation in her home state. “We know New Yorkers have spotted drones in the air this week & we are investigating. At this time, there’s no evidence that these drones pose a public safety or national security threat. We are coordinating with federal partners including @FBI & @DHSgov to protect New Yorkers.”
LILP also reached out to the Nassau County Police Department. They said they haven’t received any reports of drone sightings over the last few days.