NewYorkPost: The NYPD seized the drone of a photojournalist documenting the mass burials on Hart Island amid the coronavirus crisis, according to a report.Thousands of city residents have succumbed to COVID-19, creating a grim backlog of bodies in city morgues, hospitals and funeral homes.

Aerial photographer George Steinmetz, who has an FAA license to fly a drone, had launched the $1,500 device from a City Island parking lot Wednesday morning to film the somber work on Hart Island when he was suddenly stopped.

Just minutes after he began, Steinmetz was confronted by a group of plainclothes NYPD officers who stepped out of an unmarked van. The cops confiscated the drone and issued him a misdemeanor summons for  “avigation,” an antiquated law prohibiting aircraft —  including drones — from taking off or landing anywhere in New York City that isn’t an airport, the report said.

Images and quotes courtesy NewYork Post/ George Steinmetz/Tina Moore / Dean Balsamini