Gov. Kathy Hochul says the Biden administration “must step in” and provide New York and the surrounding region with “addition federal law enforcement” amid a scourge of drone activity.

“Last night, the runways at Stewart Airfield were shut down for approximately one hour due to drone activity in the airspace. This has gone too far,” the governor said in a released statement.

It continued:

“In mid-November, I directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue, and those efforts are ongoing. But in order to allow state law enforcement to work on this issue, I am now calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. This bill would reform legal authorities to counter-UAS and strengthen the FAA’s oversight of drones, and would extend counter-UAS activities to select state and local law enforcement agencies.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and the FAA requesting a briefing on how the agencies are working with federal and local law enforcement to identify and address the source of recent unmanned aerial system activity in New York and New Jersey.

They noted that “since late November, communities in the New York City area and northern New Jersey have reported several incidents of unattributable drone sightings at night, alarming both residents and local law enforcement” and highlighted that “the potential safety and security risks posed by these drones in civilian areas is especially pertinent considering recent drone incursions at sensitive military sites in and outside of the continental United States over the past year.”

Rockland County Executive Ed Day says there were four sightings in Rockland Thursday night and that he’s since written to the Biden Administration about his concerns.

“We are demanding information. The way this is being handled is just no good. It’s insulting to the people of the United States of America. We need answers about what’s going on,” says Day. “Don’t tell people you have nothing to worry about and then tell them we don’t know what the hell it is. That’s just ridiculous and makes no sense whatsoever.”

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus said the drones are large, industrial type drones that are in some cases the size of a small vehicle. He said they are unregistered and, in Orange County, were flying over Stewart International Airport and Orange County Airport Thursday night in restricted airspace.