New York [US], September 23 (ANI): As the United Nations General Assembly is underway in New York, a suspicious package was reported near New York's 43rd Street and Third Avenue on Tuesday (local time) was cleared and deemed not suspicious, with the US Secret Service saying the item posed no threat to the public.
The New York City Police Department said in a post on X, “The package has been cleared and deemed to not be suspicious. 43rd Street between 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue remains closed.”
UPDATE: The package has been cleared and deemed to not be suspicious.
43rd Street between 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue remains closed.
Earlier, the police had said, “Due to a suspicious package, 42nd Street through 44th Street is closed between 2nd Avenue and Lexington Avenue. Please avoid the area.”
A Secret Service spokesperson told ANI, "At approximately 3 p.m. on Sept. 22, the Secret Service and its security partners closed locations near 43rd Street and Third Avenue in New York out of an abundance of caution for public safety while they investigated a suspicious item. The item posed no threat to the public, and the area was promptly reopened."
A New Yorker working in a nearby building described the situation as “intense”, citing a suspicious package, multiple motorcades and roads being shut down in the area.
"I work right across the street in that office. Apparently, there's a suspicious package. Not really sure what's going on; I just pray for everyone's safety right now. I've been at the office right across the street since 10 in the morning and it wasn't shut down like this, but you see a bunch of motorcades and over time throughout the day everything was just being shut down...I'm not really sure exactly what's going on, but it's intense," he said.
Another New Yorker said Third Avenue was cordoned off north of 42nd Street for a couple of hours following a bomb scare, with a heavy police presence still visible in the area.
"Over an hour ago, Third Avenue was closed off north of 42nd Street because of a bomb scare. I think the streets were cordoned off for a couple of hours. There seems to be a lot of police here now, so they're probably looking for evidence. I don't know what they found; I think there was a suitcase or some luggage. There were a lot of police here, and there's still a lot of police. It's the UN General Assembly, and things like this happen more often than not. It's a busy time in New York City," he said.
The 81st session of the UN General Assembly is underway in New York, with the high-level general debate scheduled from September 22-26 and on September 28.
The session's theme is “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.” High-level meetings are also being held on climate action, development, sea-level rise and pandemic preparedness. (ANI)
