NYC Forces IDF Drone Supplier Out of City-Owned Navy Yard

A New York City–based drone manufacturer that has supplied equipment to the IDF has been required to vacate its offices at the Brooklyn Navy Yard after the city declined to renew its lease.

The decision, first reported by the New York Post, comes roughly six weeks after Zohran Mamdani, a socialist politician known for his pro-Palestinian positions, was sworn in as mayor of New York City on Jan. 1.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a 300-acre, city-owned industrial complex in Brooklyn that houses manufacturing and technology firms.It is managed by the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC), whose board members are appointed by the mayor. The corporation decided last month not to renew the lease of Easy Aerial Inc., according to the yard’s public tenant directory.

Brooklyn City Council member Lincoln Restler confirmed the move in a post on X, writing: “Easy Aerial is leaving the Brooklyn Navy Yard… made the right decision last month to not renew their lease.” He has previously argued that “This public asset should not serve as a base for companies that manufacture drones used as weapons.”

Easy Aerial manufactures autonomous drone systems used for border monitoring and security. In addition to supplying equipment to the IDF, the company has worked with the U.S. Air Force and other federal agencies. Its drones have been deployed along the U.S.–Mexico border and for security operations at large-scale events such as the Super Bowl.

The company had been the target of protests outside the Navy Yard for months. A group called “Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard” organized near-weekly demonstrations in 2025 demanding that management remove tenants they said were assisting Israel. 

New York State Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, a Democrat representing Brooklyn and an outspoken supporter of Israel, sharply criticized the lease nonrenewal. “Chasing good jobs out of New York because Mr. Mamdani and his friends hate Jews is probably not a very successful economic development program,” he said.

BNYDC has rejected claims that the decision was politically motivated. In a statement to JNS, the corporation said reports linking the nonrenewal to the company’s sales to Israel were “false.” It said Easy Aerial had been notified “at the beginning of the year” that its lease would not be renewed due to “operational and campus compliance matters,” adding: “There were no other factors in our decision.”

Claire Holmes, a spokesperson for the development corporation, stated: “Like any landlord, we evaluate lease renewals based on compliance with lease terms and campus policies.”

Ido Gur, a co-founder who is no longer involved with the company, described the decision as “upsetting” but declined to elaborate. The Mayor’s Office did not respond to inquiries.