Flying, talking NYPD drones with life rafts will help drowning swimmers at city beaches, mayor says

Swimmers who struggle in the water at a New York City beach this summer could find themselves being rescued by a flying robotic drone.

City officials on Friday laid out plans to deploy the technology widely at the city’s 14 miles of beachfront, which open for swimming on Saturday. The city tested the futuristic flyers along the waterfront last year as part of a pilot program.

The devices have speakers that allow first responders to communicate with swimmers — and can drop auto-inflating life rafts into the water to help save people from drowning. The floats range in length from 4 to 6 feet.

Officials said the drones will be used to assist lifeguards, who will continue to swim out to reach people in trouble.

“It’s a totally different dynamic than feeling you’re alone,” Mayor Eric Adams said Friday during a press briefing at Orchard Beach in the Bronx.

Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Kaz Daughtry demonstrated a drone flying from shore and dropping a float into the water. The video from the device was live-streamed onto a screen for reporters to view.

The drone rollout comes after seven people drowned at the city’s public beaches last summer, the most since 2019. Under pressure from elected officials, Adams extended lifeguard shifts during periods of extreme heat. The mayor has for years pushed the NYPD and other public safety agencies to use drones to monitor crowds during parades and protests.

City first responders deployed drones at least 26 times last summer during water rescues, but the devices were not solely credited with saving a swimmer from drowning. They have been credited with saving lives in Europe. In 2022, a drone saved the life of a 14-year-old boy swimming in Valencia, Spain.

At New York beaches, the drones will also be used for shark sightings, the mayor said. Last summer, FDNY officials reported drones identified 11 sharks in waters off the Rockaways.

Officials said the technology can actively prevent drownings by giving public safety officials an aerial view that can help them spot dangerous rip currents. If officials spot a rough section of water, a voice app on the drones enables operators to blare precise instructions to swimmers — or at least tell them that help is coming, officials said.

“If you are caught in a riptide we tell people to swim diagonally,” Daughtry advised during Friday’s news conference.

Adams later jokingly added: “We’re gonna use my voice because I have a calming voice.”

Since the pandemic, New York City has struggled to hire enough lifeguards to staff beaches and pools. The Adams administration last year responded by raising the hourly pay of lifeguards and negotiating with the union to loosen certification requirements.

On Friday, city officials said there are enough lifeguards this year to fully open all the beaches over Memorial Day weekend.

Iris Rodriguez-Rosa, the first deputy commissioner for Parks Department, said the city employed 280 certified lifeguards, and plans to add more before public pools open for the summer on June 27.