CHELSEA — Suspicious package reports closed down stretches of two Manhattan streets Tuesday, both within a mile of the explosion that injured 29 people in Chelsea.
Both were investigated and found to be safe, police and FDNY officials said.
The first suspicious package was reported at the corner of E. 12th St. and Ave. A around 10:55 a.m. The second was at W. 26th St. between 10th and 11th avenues and came in just after 11 a.m., according to the FDNY.
The suspicious package on W. 26th St. was determined not to be a bomb and the area was quickly cleared, the FDNY said.
A local worker who declined to give his name said the package had been seen in an alley near the High Line.
Stephen Brown, 30, who works as a security guard in a nearby art gallery, saw the block get shut down and reacted with the same calm many New Yorkers exhibited after the Chelsea explosion.
"I'm not gonna live in fear," said Brown. "At the end of the day, if you're gonna go, you're gonna go."
The East Village package was deemed safe shortly after noon, the FDNY said. Witnesses said it was a box containing broken glass and golf balls.
