On Wednesday Councilman Dan Garodnick introduced a bill to the New York City council seeking to ban all use of drones except those operated by police officers who obtain warrants. A second parallel bill introduced by Councilman Paul Vallone would place more stringent restrictions on drone use but stop short of banning drones for hobbyists and companies altogether. Both bills have been passed to the city's committee on public safety.

An all-out ban on drones within the metropolis would be a quite wide-reaching step, especially as the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) seems poised to adopt more permissive rules with respect to commercial interests in particular. Earlier this year, the FAA formally granted six Hollywood companies exemptions to drone ban rules. A couple of months later, the FAA granted similar exemptions for construction site monitoring and oil rig flare stack inspections.

Despite the FAA's tentative steps toward drone regulation, pilots of planes and helicopters have reported increased sightings of drones in their airspace and several near-collisions. Twelve incidents of dangerous encounters between drones and planes in the New York and Newark areas have been reported in recent months. In addition, in 2011, a man was fined $10,000 by the FAA for flying a remote-controlled plane recklessly through New York City. However, the National Transportation Safety Board struck down that fine.

Garodnick's bill reads:

No person may avigate a UAV within the limits of the city except: 1. The police department in accordance with section 14-133.1.

2. A person avigating such UAV pursuant to and within the limits of an express authorization by the federal aviation administration.

“The technology has gotten ahead of our regulations, and there are real privacy concerns here,” Garodnick told the New York Daily News. “New York City is a densely populated area, which means there are also safety concerns with drones for property and people.”

Vallone's parallel bill, however, is a bit more case-by-case. The bill lists 10 instances where operating a UAV would be illegal, including at night, out of the operator's eyesight, or above 400 ft high. Outside of those conditions, hobbyists and commercial interests would be free to fly drones.

”Garodnick says he thinks a full ban is the way to go but [he] will work with Vallone to settle on the best solution,” the New York Daily News reported.