I wish. I saw it doing laps and looked up live tracker to see the flight. I think NYC is no fly zone for small aircraft. @Patrick may know, he's a pilot?
you can fly over the city unless there is an event going on - like the stuff at the UN.
except in certain corridors, talking to atc is required. ie hudson river corridor.
i think they closed the east river one after the guy from the yankees ran into a building rather than breaking a flight rule...duh.