Drone allows Mayor Adams real time, bird's eye view of NYC emergencies
Mayor Adams has been tapping into NYPD drone footage to get an immediate assessment during the city's most critical emergencies, officials told The Post.
'I can send him a link upon his request to be able to see in real time what's happening on the ground,' Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Kaz Daughtry said of Adams, the first NYC mayor to have this access.
'Remember, he was a police officer. He doesn't want to get updates on the phone. He wants to get them in real time.'
6 Mayor Adams got a link to live feed from the shooting at 345 Park Avenue in Midtown while he was in his car.
Andrew Schwartz / SplashNews.com
The mayor was watching the NYPD's response to 345 Park Ave., after gunman Shane Tamura, 27, walked across the outdoor plaza wielding an AR-15-style rifle and murdered four people inside before killing himself, Daughtry said.
When he saw how dire the situation was, he got there as fast as he could, Daughtry said.
'I spoke to him several times during that whole incident,' Daughtry said, explaining he told the mayor the NYPD called a level three mobilization.
6 Deputy Mayor Kaz Daughtry sends teh mayor a link when there's a large incident or event he needs to know about.
Leonardo Munoz
'We're calling for resources from all over the city to respond because this is an active shooter situation,' Daughtry said, explaining the level three. 'We immediately deployed the drone. They're part of that mobilization.'
Adams watched the video from his car and saw people running out of the building with their hands up.
'He was like, 'I can't believe this is happening in our city,'' Daughtry recalled.
6 The mayor tapped into the drone feed to monitor a recent large protest in Manhattan.
Michael Nigro
'Now, as NYPD officers are running into a building you've got folks running out with their hands up. I think that made him respond to the scene faster.'
In April, the mayor watched rescue efforts from above after a helicopter carrying a Spanish family on a sightseeing tour plummeted into the Hudson River.
'Immediately he says 'Is everyone OK?' Daughtry recalled. 'Do we have our drones up yet can you please send me a link?''
6 Shooter Shane Tamura killed four people inside the building before fatally shooting himself.
AP
Adams watched as the family of five and pilot were being pulled out of the water, saw efforts to resuscitate them with CPR, and rushed to the scene.
'I told him, 'We're pulling out victims now and it's not looking good,'' Daughtry recalled.
'If he wants to see the drones, he can look real time and he can make decisions from his vehicle,' Daughtry said. 'That's only for high profile incidents. There's got to be something that rises to the magnitude where we're notifying the mayor in real time.'
6 The mayor is able to access the drone feed during large incidents.
Leonardo Munoz
Daughtry has been a staunch cheerleader for the NYPD's drone program since it started in 2019. The department uses the unmanned aerial vehicles for everything from crimefighting, to search and rescue and disaster response.
The NYPD has about 100 drones at its command and an equal number of police officers who are certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly them.
In 2024, the NYPD started its Drone as a First Responder (DFR) program, which deploys the unmanned aerial vehicles on 911 calls to get an overview of the scene and improve situational awareness for cops.
6 The mayor also got a link to watch rescue efforts after a helicopter crahed into the Hudson River in April.
Bruce Wall
The department also uses drones to locate and rescue swimmers in distress off the city's beaches — along with the FDNY — and detect illegal activities, such as subway surfing.
Civil libertarians have cried foul, arguing the video surveillance violates privacy rights.
'The drones are a force multiplier and they just add a real time sense of what's going on,' he said. 'People said it would not work and it is working here.'
The Adams administration pointed out that shootings and shooting victims are at historic lows in the city because of efforts to take guns off the street, gang takedowns and precision policing.
'As technology evolves, we are evolving with it — and drones have become a critical crime-fighting tool that helps our officers do exactly that,' Adams said in a statement. 'Real-time camera access for our senior leadership during emergencies or mass protests allows us to keep communities safe and respond to active incidents faster.'
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