Air rights differ from county to county, and even property to property in some counties. 500ft is a fair ballpark figure. Either way, you don't need to be abov

Air rights differ from county to county, and even property to property in some counties. 500ft is a fair ballpark figure. Either way, you don't need to be above a property to spy on it from the air, although I seriously doubt that type of restraint would be exercised by NYPD. A motivated lawyer might be able to get damages for unlawful search - but you'd be venturing into an area, er, volume where there is probably no precedent.