MANHATTAN — A suspicious package dropped in front of the Consulate General of Israel Thursday afternoon was declared harmless by the bomb squad, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
A man was seen placing a cardboard box in front of the consulate on Second Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets at about 5:20 p.m., according to police. The Emergency Service Unit and bomb squad inspected the package and deemed it inert.
Second Avenue was shut down between 42nd and 44th streets while police investigated and was reopened by 6:40 p.m.
This incident comes the same day another man tossed what appeared to be a bomb into a police van early Thursday morning.
The device also turned out to be inert, and the man was eventually taken into custody after a six-hour standoff at Columbus Circle.
