The head of a drone-manufacturing company whose clients include the Israel Defense Forces said his business is being booted from the city-run Brooklyn Navy Yard because of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “pro-Palestine” agenda.
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. — whose board members serve at the pleasure of the mayor and manage the 300-acre industrial park — announced last week it was not renewing the company’s lease, citing “business reasons.”
Shahar Abuhazira, CEO of Easy Aerial, told The Post Thursday he has since learned through “private conversations” with Navy Yard board members that Mamdani – who was sworn in as mayor Jan. 1 — is behind the ouster that ends the company’s seven-year relationship with NYC.
“They told me there definitely was pressure from the mayor’s office and recommended not fighting it,” he said.
The company has long been the target of protests at the former Navy shipyard since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and initiated a war in Gaza, primarily from a group called “Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard” that has demanded the board evict tenants that assist Israel.
Security directly over Easy Aerial at the Navy Yard “suddenly” became more lax once Mamdani became mayor, claimed Abuhazira, citing a series of recent break-in attempts he said led to broken windows and other damage at the industrial park.
During a Feb. 11 rally, the anti-Israel protestors gained access into the lobby of the building Easy Aerial rents for six hours. At one point, they openly taunted the company’s co-founder Ivan Stamatovski as NYPD cops escorted him to elevators, video posted by the protesters on Instagram shows.
Easy Aerial assists the Israel Defense Forces by supplying surveillance drones for reconnaissance missions and monitoring borders along the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, but most of its work is with the US Air Force and other federal agencies.
Its spies-in-the-sky have been used to monitor suspicious activity along the Mexican border, and its high-profile work also includes Super Bowl security.
Abuhazira said the 100-employee company has received offers to relocate out of the Big Apple since The Post broke the news of its ouster but is trying to remain in NYC because its staff is mostly Brooklyn-based. He also said the company — which must leave the industrial park by the end of June — is considering legal action.
”Five months ago, we doubled the size of our space, and they had no issues with that,” he said. “But since the new mayor got elected [in November], everything has changed.”
“This is something that is going to cause us a lot of damage,” he continued. “It is not easy to move a company on such short notice.”
The Mayor’s Office did not return messages, but Navy Yard spokesperson Claire Holmes insisted the decision was made before Mamdani took office.
“BNYDC declined to renew Easy Aerial’s lease in December 2025 after repeated compliance issues dating back to 2023, which include flying drones in unauthorized areas and improper usage of utility sources,” she said.
“BNYDC communicated with Easy Aerial about these issues by phone, email, and in-person over the last three years. There were no other factors in our decision.”
She also said the Navy Yard “connected” Easy Aerial with the state’s economic development arm, Empire State Development Corp., to help it locate another New York space “in a larger, less dense environment with ample FAA-approved drone flight areas and easy access to utility sources.”
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