BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The City of Buffalo is taking a 21st-century approach, to save historic buildings across the Queen City.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown announced Friday that the city will be using drones to inspect a building’s structural integrity from the air. EagleHawk Drone, which is based in Blasdell, will be working with the city.

Brown hopes the program will keep landlords accountable.

We know that preservation is important and the drone technology we will begin to employ immediately will give us a better read on problem properties across the City of Buffalo,” said Mayor Brown.

“It’s a major problem across the U.S. that buildings that are high and hard to get to. Traditional methods of inspection are hard and expensive and dangerous. Therefore, a lot of managers don’t get information in a timely manner. Well, drone technology is changing that,” said Patrick Walsh

The idea to use drones came in 2019, but legal issues and the pandemic slowed things down.