By Benjamin Fractenberg and Nicole Bode
DNAinfo Senior Editor
MANHATTAN – Police shut down a section of West 34th street during the height of Wednesday morning rush hour to give crews room to investigate a suspicious package, officials said.
Emergency crews closed West 34th Street in both directions from Seventh Avenue to Eighth Avenue shortly after 9:30 a.m., as authorities inspected an unattended suitcase found on the sidewalk on the north side of 34th street. The luggage was discovered a few doors down from T.G.I.Friday's restaurant at Eighth Avenue.
Crews inspected the luggage and found it to be harmless and empty, an official at the scene said. The street was reopened shortly after 10 a.m.
The luggage owner briefly left the piece but then returned to the scene, police said.
The street closures rerouted bus service on the M34 and M16 and unleashed a flood of confusion on Twitter.
"Anyone know why 34th street is crawling with cops?" user nycphoenix wrote.
