By Gus Saltonstall
A New Year’s Eve drone show slated for Central Park has been cancelled after a child was badly injured during a drone show in Florida.
Traditionally, the New York Road Runners Club puts on a fireworks display in Central Park as part of its Midnight Run on New Year’s Eve. However, the organization cancelled the pyrotechnic event this year due to restrictions related to the drought that the city faced this fall.
The running organization instead pivoted to a drone show that would only be visible to runners within the park.
That has now been cancelled, though, after a child needed open heart surgery when he was struck in the chest by a falling drone at a show in Florida organized by the same vendor that New York Road Runners had booked for its event.
Multiple drones taking part in the recent Orlando, Florida, event collided, falling into the crowd. One hit the seven-year-old boy. The vendor, Sky Elements Drones, is now under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Because of the timing, we were not able to either pivot back to fireworks or find another vendor,” Road Runners spokesperson Crystal Howard, told Gothamist. “We’re working to do some on-course things that will surprise and delight runners.”
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Oh, no – the private drone party in the public park was cancelled!? The travesty…
The idea of a drone show is ridiculous to start with.
500 drones over your head. Gee what can go wrong?
Bring the fireworks back.
No fireworks, Family pet freaks out. Happy to welcome the New Year, without a lot of noise.
I am very glad. Nobody talks about the disturbance to the wildlife. Catastrophic for the birds.
The Midnight Run in Central Park is its own psychedelic show of light and sound and crazy good cheer. A great way to ring in the New Year, no artificial noise and flash needed. I’ve never run it, not even in the days when I was physically able to, but I’ve loved going out and cheering on the participants in their goofy costumes.
Really do not need fireworks
average, culled from 315 different testing sites, Independence Day fireworks introduce 42 percent more pollutants into the air than are found on a normal day
Who needs it? Especially in the summer.
And drones, at the same time when nobody knows what all these stray drone sightings are all about? Seems like kind of dangerous timing.
FWIW, I predicted this in a prior comment. Cancel everything!
Fortunately, there are many other wonderful things going on in the park. It’s such a wonderful celebration on New Year’s.!
Glad the previous relevant discussion was mostly against drones anyway. Sad incident. Now we can all look forward to droning on and on about summer fireworks.
GOOD!
Now I can get some well deserved sleep.
TO QUOTE THE GREAT PHILOSOPHER FORREST GUMP “STUPID IS WHAT STUPID DOES”
THANK YOU, MAYOR ADAMS, AND HAVE A BLESSED DAY.
Thank goodness for no fireworks. My skittish rescue, Charlie Girl, and her best dog-friend, Rosie, have had enough concussive experiences from pyrotechnics for plenty of lifetimes. Thanks for the much needed decibel break.