Tell someone your property is two miles from Newark Liberty and they'll assume drone photography is off the table. Usually it isn't. Flights there are regulated, not prohibited: they need FAA authorization, which a licensed pilot can usually obtain.
FAA facility maps: allowed altitudes near airports
The FAA divides the controlled airspace near airports into a grid of squares and assigns each square a maximum drone altitude: 400 feet in some, 200 or 100 in others, and zero next to the runways. These are the UAS Facility Maps, and they're public. If a pilot says a site can't be flown, the first question is what the map allows for that square.
Around Newark Liberty, the allowed altitude steps down as you get closer to the field. Many nearby squares allow 100 or 200 feet, which is enough for most property photography. The zero-altitude squares are a tight area around the runways.
LAANC authorization
For most controlled airspace, a Part 107 pilot requests authorization through LAANC, the FAA's automated system, specifying the exact area, altitude, and time. Requests within the facility map's limits are usually approved within minutes. For us it is part of planning every flight, like filing a flight plan in the Air Force, and the client never has to deal with it.
New York Class B shelves
Much of northern New Jersey also lies under the New York Class B, airspace that begins at different heights above the ground in layers, like an upside-down wedding cake. Under a layer that begins at 1,500 feet, a 300-foot drone flight isn't in Class B at all. Authorization is needed only where controlled airspace reaches the ground: Newark Liberty's Class B surface area and the Class D areas around towered airports such as Teterboro, Morristown, and Essex County Airport. Confusing the two is where the idea that you can't fly a drone in North Jersey comes from.
What this means when you hire
Three practical points. First, don't rule out your property because it's near an airport; send the address and check the map. Second, ask any operator how they handle authorizations; a vague answer is a warning sign. Third, expect a straight answer on the hard cases: a few sites really are at zero altitude or need a direct FAA request with lead time, and a good operator tells you that up front.
Any authorization your site needs is included in our quote.