We had our selfie sticks confiscated from us during check in at the bottom. I thought it was a bit drastic where other venues just advised us not to use them. We were told they would be returned to us after we returned to the bottom.
I was shocked to see a girl at the top using a selfie stick??? I wished I had mine as I am disabled in a mobility scooter. I needed the extra reach to put my phone up against the glass to stop reflections. All my photos have great reflections of me and surrounds competing for the image I wanted out side. At the bottom I questioned the security about the girl and her selfie stick. Oh, they said she had a selfie stick without a tripod. Ours were confiscated because of the 4 inch "tripod legs that would obstruct other peoples views!!!!" What the! Tripods in the sense of a professionals 4 foot high and 3 foot wide legs, yeah. But a tiny 4 inch legs, come on!
Thanks to the stupid security team for following the rules to the letter, a tripod is a tripod....Duh. Oh, and thanks to the many ignorant people that just stood there chatting away to each other (like a family group) at the windows after taking their pictures while I sat there waiting patiently and quietly to get a chance to get near the window. Oh, that's OK, they are only dual pods, not tripods...Overall, a very typical "New York experience". Thankfully, I don't live there.