New York, New York - A series of drone sightings in the New York metropolitan area, which includes parts of neighboring New Jersey, has worried residents as well as local and national politicians and prompted investigations into the mystery.

"We know New Yorkers have spotted drones in the air this week & we are investigating," New York Governor Kathy Hochul wrote on X on Friday. "At this time, there’s no evidence that these drones pose a public safety or national security threat."

She said her office is coordinating with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Homeland Security offices "to protect New Yorkers."

In a letter sent on Thursday to those two federal offices as well as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which supervises air traffic in the US, New York Senators Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, and Kirsten Gillibrand and New Jersey Senators Cory Booker and Andrew Kim requested a briefing on the activity.

Mystery Will New Jersey's mystery drones interfere with Santa's sleigh?

"Since late November, communities in the New York City area and northern New Jersey have reported several incidents of unattributable drone sightings at night, alarming both residents and local law enforcement," the letter stated.

The four senators said this highlights "the potential safety and security risks," especially since some recent drone activity has focused on "sensitive military sites in and outside of the continental United States over the past year."

The concerns have been taken up by top officials in President Joe Biden's administration. On Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN that "we have not seen any unusual activity. We know of no threat."

He said it is common for people to mistake drones for small aircraft, noting that pilots have not reported seeing drones and there have been no intrusions into restricted airspace.

The concerns were brought up in a press briefing on Thursday with National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby, who told reporters "in this early stage of the investigation, there’s just no national security threat that we see and no public safety risk."

Mystery Marble-sized mystery balls cause the closure of nine Sydney beaches

On Friday, the former Maryland governor Larry Hogan, wrote on X that on Thursday night, he "personally witnessed (and videoed) what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky above my residence," which is some 25 miles from the capital in Washington.

Hogan, a Republican, condemned the response from the federal government.

"We are being told that neither the White House, the military, the FBI, or Homeland Security have any idea what they are, where they came from, or who has launched or is controlling them – and that they pose no threat," he wrote.

"That response is entirely unacceptable," he said, adding that he joins a bipartisan group of leaders "demanding that the federal government immediately address this issue. "

Hogan's fellow Republican, President-elect Donald Trump, writing on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday, said he didn't believe that the government was unaware of what was going on.

"Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!"

Trump retakes the White House on January 20, 2025.