FAA Restricts Airspace Over NYC, Pasadena for New Year’s

WASHINGTON —  A temporary flight ban was imposed over the Statue of Liberty and Midtown Manhattan for New Year’s Eve because of possible security risks ahead of high-profile festivities.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday also issued flight restrictions along the Rose Parade route in Pasadena, at the state’s request, as a security precaution at the event expected to draw thousands of people.

“The temporary flight restrictions are in effect for security reasons,” FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. She added that the Rose Parade has had such limits in place for years.

She said that from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. New Year’s Eve, pilots will be prohibited from flying below 1,500 feet within a one-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty in New York. During the same period, flights below 2,000 feet are banned over Manhattan Island between 23rd and 96th streets -- a section slightly larger than Central Park -- at the request of the New York Police Department, Brown said.