No Amazon Drone Delivery in South Jersey without Public Consent
No Amazon Drone Delivery in South Jersey without Public Consent
The Issue
Amazon Wants to Fly Delivery Drones Over Mantua and Wenonah in October. We Found Out From a Facebook Post.
Tell Amazon and our elected officials: no flights until residents get a public hearing and straight answers.
What we know
On August 21, 2026, Mantua Township Police Chief William Murphy posted a message to residents. He and Township OEM Coordinator Daniel Hauss — along with OEM officials and police chiefs from across the area — had just attended a Zoom briefing with representatives from Amazon about a proposed drone delivery operation.
According to what Amazon told them:
- Amazon anticipates beginning drone delivery operations in mid-October 2026
- The drone launch facility will be located at 240 Mantua Grove Road, West Deptford Township
- The proposed delivery area covers almost all of Mantua Township and the Borough of Wenonah
- Flights would operate from 15 minutes before sunrise until 15 minutes after sunset
- The drones are authorized to fly at altitudes below 400 feet
- Chief Murphy described this as preliminary information, and Amazon described the operation as proposed. That is exactly why this petition exists — while it is still proposed, it can still be changed.
Two days earlier, on August 19, Amazon publicly announced it was expanding Prime Air drone delivery to nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026. New Jersey was not among the locations Amazon named in that announcement.
So here is where residents stand: a delivery operation over our homes is roughly eight weeks out, and the most detailed information any of us has received came from our police department's Facebook page.
What concerns us
We were not asked. The people who will live under these flight paths were not part of that Zoom call. Neighbors, not officials, are the ones who have to live with this every day from before sunrise until after sunset.
Noise, all day, every day. Amazon says its MK30 drone is quieter than earlier models — comparable to "a window fan on low" in flight, and below an idling delivery truck during drop-off. Those are Amazon's figures, measured by Amazon. Nobody has measured what repeated flights sound like over Mantua and Wenonah backyards, and no independent noise study has been offered to residents.
Cameras over our yards. Amazon states publicly that its drones use onboard cameras for navigation and obstacle detection and that "there is no live camera feed monitored by any person." That is a claim, not a disclosure.
Residents deserve answers in writing:
- What imagery and location data is captured on every flight?
- How long is it retained?
- Who inside Amazon can access it, and under what conditions?
- Is it shared with third parties, law enforcement, or government agencies — and does that require a warrant?
- Can a resident request that imagery of their property be deleted?
- Safety below 400 feet.
- These aircraft would fly over houses, schools, parks, ballfields and the Mantua Creek corridor. What happens in a malfunction, a bird strike, or a battery failure?
- What is the emergency protocol?
- Who is liable for injury or property damage?
- Amazon suspended drone operations in other communities after incidents.
- Residents have not been shown a safety record.
- What is the environmental impact of releasing hundreds of drones to our area?
- How much power will this use?
- How will the power be supplied?
- Are these being powered on our electrical grid?
- Will this raise our already skyrocketing power bills?
What we are asking for
1. A public hearing before a single package flies. Mantua Township and Wenonah Borough should each hold a public meeting, with Amazon representatives present to answer residents' questions directly, before operations begin.
2. Full written disclosure of the operation. Proposed flight paths and altitudes, daily flight volume, hours, independent noise measurements taken in our neighborhoods, and Amazon's complete safety and incident record for existing sites.
3. Full written disclosure of data practices. Answers to every question above, published where residents can read them — plus a working process for a resident to request deletion of imagery of their property.
4. A meaningful opt-out. Households that do not want drones flying over their property should be able to say so and have it honored.
5. Our officials formally request a hold. We ask the Mantua Township Committee, Wenonah Borough Council, West Deptford Township, the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners, and our state and federal representatives to formally request that Amazon and the Federal Aviation Administration delay this launch until items 1 through 4 are met.
Why this matters beyond Mantua
Amazon plans to be in nearly 500 communities by the end of this year. How Mantua and Wenonah are treated — consulted, or simply notified eight weeks out — sets the pattern for every town after us.
We are not asking anyone to stop innovation. We are asking to be treated as residents of our own neighborhoods rather than as a service area on a map.
Sign, and share this with a neighbor, and contact your representative:
Governor
Mikie Sherrill, Governor of New Jersey:
nj.gov/governor/contact
U.S. Senate
Cory Booker — booker.senate.gov/contact
Andy Kim — kim.senate.gov/contact
U.S. House
Donald Norcross (NJ-1) — norcross.house.gov/contact
Jeff Van Drew (NJ-2, covers Gloucester County) — vandrew.house.gov/contact
Zack Mullock — 2026 Democratic nominee for NJ-2, not currently in office — mullockforcongress.com
State Legislature — Districts 1-9
District 1
Michael L. Testa Jr., Senator — sentesta@njleg.org
Antwan L. McClellan, Assemblyman — asmmcclellan@njleg.org
Erik K. Simonsen, Assemblyman — asmsimonsen@njleg.org
District 2
Vincent J. Polistina, Senator — senpolistina@njleg.org
Donald A. Guardian, Assemblyman — asmguardian@njleg.org
Maureen Rowan, Assemblywoman — leginfo@njleg.org
District 3 (covers Mantua, Wenonah, West Deptford)
John J. Burzichelli, Senator — senburzichelli@njleg.org
David Bailey Jr., Assemblyman — asmbailey@njleg.org
Heather Simmons, Assemblywoman — aswsimmons@njleg.org
District 4
Paul D. Moriarty, Senator — senmoriarty@njleg.org
Dan Hutchison, Assemblyman — asmhutchison@njleg.org
Cody D. Miller, Assemblyman — asmmiller@njleg.org
District 5
Nilsa I. Cruz-Perez, Senator — sencruzperez@njleg.org
William F. Moen Jr., Assemblyman — asmmoen@njleg.org
William W. Spearman, Assemblyman — asmspearman@njleg.org
District 6
James Beach, Senator — senbeach@njleg.org
Louis D. Greenwald, Assemblyman — asmgreenwald@njleg.org
Melinda Kane, Assemblywoman — aswkane@njleg.org
District 7
Troy Singleton, Senator — sensingleton@njleg.org
Carol A. Murphy, Assemblywoman — aswmurphy@njleg.org
Balvir Singh, Assemblyman — asmsingh@njleg.org
District 8
Latham Tiver, Senator — sentiver@njleg.org
Anthony Angelozzi, Assemblyman — leginfo@njleg.org
Andrea Katz, Assemblywoman — aswkatz@njleg.org
District 9
Carmen F. Amato Jr., Senator — senamato@njleg.org
Gregory E. Myhre, Assemblyman — asmmyhre@njleg.org
Brian E. Rumpf, Assemblyman — asmrumpf@njleg.org
Sources: Message from Mantua Township Police Chief William Murphy, Mantua Police Department NJ, August 21, 2026; Amazon Prime Air expansion announcement, aboutamazon.com, August 19, 2026.
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The Issue
Amazon Wants to Fly Delivery Drones Over Mantua and Wenonah in October. We Found Out From a Facebook Post.
Tell Amazon and our elected officials: no flights until residents get a public hearing and straight answers.
What we know
On August 21, 2026, Mantua Township Police Chief William Murphy posted a message to residents. He and Township OEM Coordinator Daniel Hauss — along with OEM officials and police chiefs from across the area — had just attended a Zoom briefing with representatives from Amazon about a proposed drone delivery operation.
According to what Amazon told them:
- Amazon anticipates beginning drone delivery operations in mid-October 2026
- The drone launch facility will be located at 240 Mantua Grove Road, West Deptford Township
- The proposed delivery area covers almost all of Mantua Township and the Borough of Wenonah
- Flights would operate from 15 minutes before sunrise until 15 minutes after sunset
- The drones are authorized to fly at altitudes below 400 feet
- Chief Murphy described this as preliminary information, and Amazon described the operation as proposed. That is exactly why this petition exists — while it is still proposed, it can still be changed.
Two days earlier, on August 19, Amazon publicly announced it was expanding Prime Air drone delivery to nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026. New Jersey was not among the locations Amazon named in that announcement.
So here is where residents stand: a delivery operation over our homes is roughly eight weeks out, and the most detailed information any of us has received came from our police department's Facebook page.
What concerns us
We were not asked. The people who will live under these flight paths were not part of that Zoom call. Neighbors, not officials, are the ones who have to live with this every day from before sunrise until after sunset.
Noise, all day, every day. Amazon says its MK30 drone is quieter than earlier models — comparable to "a window fan on low" in flight, and below an idling delivery truck during drop-off. Those are Amazon's figures, measured by Amazon. Nobody has measured what repeated flights sound like over Mantua and Wenonah backyards, and no independent noise study has been offered to residents.
Cameras over our yards. Amazon states publicly that its drones use onboard cameras for navigation and obstacle detection and that "there is no live camera feed monitored by any person." That is a claim, not a disclosure.
Residents deserve answers in writing:
- What imagery and location data is captured on every flight?
- How long is it retained?
- Who inside Amazon can access it, and under what conditions?
- Is it shared with third parties, law enforcement, or government agencies — and does that require a warrant?
- Can a resident request that imagery of their property be deleted?
- Safety below 400 feet.
- These aircraft would fly over houses, schools, parks, ballfields and the Mantua Creek corridor. What happens in a malfunction, a bird strike, or a battery failure?
- What is the emergency protocol?
- Who is liable for injury or property damage?
- Amazon suspended drone operations in other communities after incidents.
- Residents have not been shown a safety record.
- What is the environmental impact of releasing hundreds of drones to our area?
- How much power will this use?
- How will the power be supplied?
- Are these being powered on our electrical grid?
- Will this raise our already skyrocketing power bills?
What we are asking for
1. A public hearing before a single package flies. Mantua Township and Wenonah Borough should each hold a public meeting, with Amazon representatives present to answer residents' questions directly, before operations begin.
2. Full written disclosure of the operation. Proposed flight paths and altitudes, daily flight volume, hours, independent noise measurements taken in our neighborhoods, and Amazon's complete safety and incident record for existing sites.
3. Full written disclosure of data practices. Answers to every question above, published where residents can read them — plus a working process for a resident to request deletion of imagery of their property.
4. A meaningful opt-out. Households that do not want drones flying over their property should be able to say so and have it honored.
5. Our officials formally request a hold. We ask the Mantua Township Committee, Wenonah Borough Council, West Deptford Township, the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners, and our state and federal representatives to formally request that Amazon and the Federal Aviation Administration delay this launch until items 1 through 4 are met.
Why this matters beyond Mantua
Amazon plans to be in nearly 500 communities by the end of this year. How Mantua and Wenonah are treated — consulted, or simply notified eight weeks out — sets the pattern for every town after us.
We are not asking anyone to stop innovation. We are asking to be treated as residents of our own neighborhoods rather than as a service area on a map.
Sign, and share this with a neighbor, and contact your representative:
Governor
Mikie Sherrill, Governor of New Jersey:
nj.gov/governor/contact
U.S. Senate
Cory Booker — booker.senate.gov/contact
Andy Kim — kim.senate.gov/contact
U.S. House
Donald Norcross (NJ-1) — norcross.house.gov/contact
Jeff Van Drew (NJ-2, covers Gloucester County) — vandrew.house.gov/contact
Zack Mullock — 2026 Democratic nominee for NJ-2, not currently in office — mullockforcongress.com
State Legislature — Districts 1-9
District 1
Michael L. Testa Jr., Senator — sentesta@njleg.org
Antwan L. McClellan, Assemblyman — asmmcclellan@njleg.org
Erik K. Simonsen, Assemblyman — asmsimonsen@njleg.org
District 2
Vincent J. Polistina, Senator — senpolistina@njleg.org
Donald A. Guardian, Assemblyman — asmguardian@njleg.org
Maureen Rowan, Assemblywoman — leginfo@njleg.org
District 3 (covers Mantua, Wenonah, West Deptford)
John J. Burzichelli, Senator — senburzichelli@njleg.org
David Bailey Jr., Assemblyman — asmbailey@njleg.org
Heather Simmons, Assemblywoman — aswsimmons@njleg.org
District 4
Paul D. Moriarty, Senator — senmoriarty@njleg.org
Dan Hutchison, Assemblyman — asmhutchison@njleg.org
Cody D. Miller, Assemblyman — asmmiller@njleg.org
District 5
Nilsa I. Cruz-Perez, Senator — sencruzperez@njleg.org
William F. Moen Jr., Assemblyman — asmmoen@njleg.org
William W. Spearman, Assemblyman — asmspearman@njleg.org
District 6
James Beach, Senator — senbeach@njleg.org
Louis D. Greenwald, Assemblyman — asmgreenwald@njleg.org
Melinda Kane, Assemblywoman — aswkane@njleg.org
District 7
Troy Singleton, Senator — sensingleton@njleg.org
Carol A. Murphy, Assemblywoman — aswmurphy@njleg.org
Balvir Singh, Assemblyman — asmsingh@njleg.org
District 8
Latham Tiver, Senator — sentiver@njleg.org
Anthony Angelozzi, Assemblyman — leginfo@njleg.org
Andrea Katz, Assemblywoman — aswkatz@njleg.org
District 9
Carmen F. Amato Jr., Senator — senamato@njleg.org
Gregory E. Myhre, Assemblyman — asmmyhre@njleg.org
Brian E. Rumpf, Assemblyman — asmrumpf@njleg.org
Sources: Message from Mantua Township Police Chief William Murphy, Mantua Police Department NJ, August 21, 2026; Amazon Prime Air expansion announcement, aboutamazon.com, August 19, 2026.
Petition Updates
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Petition created on August 21, 2026