1. United States
2. N.J.
3. Letter

Dear Governor Sherrill and Members of the New Jersey Legislature, I am writing as a concerned resident of Gloucester County to oppose the unregulated, untested rollout of Amazon drone delivery operations planned to launch in mid-October 2026 from a facility at 240 Mantua Grove Road, covering nearly all of Mantua Township and the Borough of Wenonah. This program was announced to residents only after Amazon had already briefed local police chiefs and OEM coordinators in a closed Zoom meeting. There was no public notice, no opportunity for public comment, and no independent safety review made available before an operational timeline was set. Residents are being told this is happening, not asked whether it should happen. My specific concerns: • No public process. A private company should not be able to negotiate low-altitude drone operations over an entire township’s homes, schools, and streets with law enforcement alone. Residents deserve public hearings, an environmental and safety review, and a real comment period before any launch date is set. • Safety and airspace oversight. Operating below 400 feet from roughly sunrise to sunset over densely populated residential areas raises real questions about noise, collision risk, emergency response interference, and privacy (onboard cameras/sensors) that have not been publicly addressed. • No demonstrated state or local regulatory framework. New Jersey does not appear to have a public, township-level review process for commercial drone delivery operations of this scale. Federal FAA authorization is not a substitute for state and local oversight of noise, privacy, and land-use impacts on residents. • Precedent. If this launch proceeds without public input, it sets a precedent that any municipality in New Jersey can be turned into a commercial drone corridor with no resident say, so long as the company briefs the police department first. I am asking you to: 1. Require a formal public comment period and public hearing before any commercial drone delivery operation begins service over a New Jersey municipality. 2. Direct the appropriate state agency (e.g., NJDOT or a newly designated authority) to establish minimum noise, altitude, privacy, and safety-reporting standards for commercial drone delivery, in coordination with the FAA. 3. Pause the mid-October 2026 Mantua/Wenonah launch until residents have had a genuine opportunity to review the plan and raise concerns. Thank you for your attention to this. I expect a response outlining what oversight, if any, currently applies to this operation, and what steps you will take to ensure residents are not simply informed after the fact.