Oyster Bay, NY Drone Rules: Recreational Drones (2026)

Chapter 231 treats hobbyist drone flying the same as any other UAS use for permit purposes: § 231-2A requires a Town Clerk permit before launching or landing at any Town facility, defined in § 231-3 to include every park, beach, and cemetery in the Town. Where the chapter goes easier on recreational flyers is insurance. Section 231-7A ordinarily requires a permittee to carry liability coverage of $1,000,000 general liability, $500,000/$1,000,000 bodily injury, and $500,000 property damage naming the Town as an insured, but § 231-7B lets proof of membership in the Academy of Model Aeronautics stand in as satisfactory proof of insurance for noncommercial UAS operations, sparing hobbyists the cost of a separate policy.

m. Under § 231-12A, a hobbyist permittee must comply with AMA rules and regulations as a permit condition, alongside the Town's own terms, and must carry the permit and show it on demand to anyone enforcing the chapter. The Town Board adopted the whole chapter in 2017 after finding that drone use around Town facilities creates a noisy and potentially dangerous condition for the public and for wildlife, a rationale the chapter applies to recreational flying just as much as commercial use.