You might have heard about the mysterious unidentified drones hovering over different areas of New Jersey in recent weeks — but did you know Staten Island is experiencing a similar phenomenon?
The Advance/SILive.com received tips about comparable drones being seen near 1441 South Ave., Howland Hook Marine Terminal, and other parts of the island.
Former Air Force Sergeant Walter Ziegler of New Springville spotted some of the drones from his apartment building with binoculars.
He described them as having “a white light in the center and a red light on each side.” By his estimation, he believes the span of the drone is about 15-feet-long. They came “within a mile or less” of his apartment, he said, and “they were all stringed out.”
The most he observed in a single instance “was five or six.”
This aligns with Advance/SILive.com‘s sister site, NJ.com‘s, reporting which describes a few drones as “unusually large, according to the reports.”
Ziegler added that the drones spotted at Howland Hook “were in the glide path” of Newark International Airport.
“When the aircraft actually got close to them, the lights shut off, and when the aircraft passed them, the lights came on again and started following the aircraft towards the airport,” he explained.
Using apps, Ziegler was able to determine that the drones were not helicopters as they lack the transponders usually aboard a helicopter. While he isn’t sure if they are military related, he did say that if they were military, “they wouldn’t have their transponders on anyway.”
The drones will hover over a location for any given amount of time before moving off.
The last time Ziegler saw the drones was Tuesday night.
When did this begin?
FBI agents in New Jersey are looking into the neighboring state’s occurrences which New Jersey police began to investigate on Nov. 18, NJ.com said.
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“Reports have been filed with police about drones in Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Morristown, Morris Township, Chester, Randolph, Rockaway, Morris Plains, Dover and Parsippany in Morris County. Authorities in Hillsborough and Branchburg in Somerset County, and communities in Warren County, have also received reports,” NJ.com reported.
These locations are near Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County and Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, both of which now have an order in place forbidding drones from entering the airspace above them.
Though their origin is a unknown, New Jersey “law enforcement officials said the drones are not a threat to residents.”
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