7. The NYPD Occupied a Hangar for the World’s First Police Aviation Unit

Although aviation uses at Floyd Bennett Field were primarily military, it was temporarily home to the New York City Police Department Aviation Unit. Established in 1929, it is the world’s first and oldest police aviation unit, which operated at the airport out of Hangar Row.

The unit occupied hanger 3 and expanded into hangar 4 before relocating to the former Coast Guard Air Station in 1998. At the time of its establishment, the unit was comprised of fixed-wing aircraft, before adopting the helicopter in 1948. It later became an all-helicopter unit in 1954.