The drone inspections could alleviate staff shortages at NYC's building department while saving money. More importantly, they could save lives. The council proposal comes days after falling debris from a fined building killed architect Erica Tishman while she was walking below. Ideally, this would have helped pinpoint and fix the problem.

There's one problem: right now, the 1948-era airspace laws would forbid drones. The city would have to relax those laws for this concept to move forward. If that happens, though, drones might soon be a regular part of NYC's landscape.