MIDTOWN — A dummy grenade found in a backpack that was then taken to West 30th Street shut down the block between Sixth and Seventh avenues for about an hour Wednesday afternoon, police said.
The inert bomb was discovered in front of the 23rd Precinct about 2:30 p.m., prompting the street closure and a call to the bomb squad, according to the NYPD.
Judith Miranda, 55, a curbside fruit vendor, packed up her cart on Seventh Avenue when the bomb squad descended on the block.
"I have to get out of here, I'm taking my cart," Miranda said. "I'm scared."
Beatriz Pino, 33, who works as an architect in an office on West 30th Street, said she was out getting coffee with two co-workers and, when she came back, the street was cordoned off.
"I'm a little bit scared," Pino said. "I have deadlines and stuff. But it's better to be safe."
The grenade was found to be disabled and not dangerous, and around 3:30 p.m. the street was reopened, police said.
"It was an inert grenade," said NYPD Inspector Scott Hanover. "The kind you can buy in army stores. Somebody found it and was nice enough to bring it over here."
