NYPD: No bomb in van abandoned in Times Square; workers allowed to re-enter evacuated offices

NYPD: No bomb inside van abandoned in Times Square

NEW YORK — A white van parked in the heart of Times Square with tinted windows, no license plates and a bogus law enforcement placard was enough for the NYPD to briefly evacuate the tourist hot spot and send in a bomb squad on the day before the annual massive New Year’s Eve celebration.

No explosive devices were found inside the van Wednesday afternoon, and the area was reopened to traffic about two hours after the incident began.

Patrol officers spotted the van around 11 a.m. on Broadway between 41st and 42nd streets, and counterterrorism and bomb squad crews responded. The area was blocked off and two high-rise buildings, home to Nasdaq and publishing company Conde Nast, were partially evacuated, but occupants were allowed back in around 1 p.m.

Nasdaq said its trading was unaffected. Conde Nast was in the process of evacuating when the order was lifted.

There were no corresponding terror threats involving the vehicle, said chief NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne.

But police take extra care around New Year’s Eve when the celebration draws hundreds of thousands of revelers from around the world to the heart of Times Square to see the ball drop at midnight. Squads routinely patrol for suspicious vehicles and do sweeps in garages before the annual event.

“Its presence in Times Square just before New Year’s Eve causes us concern, and that’s why we’re taking extra precautions,” Browne said.

Hours after the scare, Mayor Michael Bloomberg stood outside the Nasdaq building, down the street from where the van had been parked, and declared the city safe for the festivities.

“Somebody thought it was suspicious. They called. We checked it out. It turned out not to be anything bad,” he said. “We take every threat or every potential threat seriously.”

The 1992 Dodge van was parked in a row of cars beneath some of the large billboards that ring the square.

Shouting and putting up metal and wood barricades, police began clearing several blocks, directing thousands of Times Square tourists to move south and west. Investigators also towed a parked car several yards from the van. A tarp partially covered the van, and the placard said “detective’s crime clinic, Metropolitan New Jersey and New York,” a nonexistent law enforcement agency.

Police used a robot to examine the vehicle, then approached on foot and peered in the windows. The van was opened and clothing was discovered inside, along with a temporary registration. Police were looking for the van’s owner.

It wasn’t clear how long the van had been parked there, although people who work in the area said the van had been there at least two days. A similar-looking van in the same location appeared on Google Street View in warmer weather, which suggests it could have been there for a while. The vehicle was towed Wednesday.

Stephanie Gonzalez, who works in the glass-walled tower directly in front of where the van was parked, said announcements were made around 11 a.m. that people should head to the west side of the building, away from the vehicle. She left the building entirely.

“Post-9/11, you’re just not going to stick around to figure it out,” she said.

Stephen Radner, an attorney who works on the 40th floor of the same tower, said that everyone was getting jittery after the first announcements to move to the west side of the building instead of evacuate.

“I couldn’t quite understand it,” he said. “If there was an explosion, it would have shattered everything in the building.”

The incident comes three weeks after a shootout in Times Square when a man hawking CDs ran from officers who recognized him as an aggressive panhandler running a scam. Raymond Martinez pulled out a machine pistol and got off two rounds before the gun jammed. An officer fired back, killing Martinez in the carport of the Marriott Marquis hotel.

Associated Press Writer Cristian Salazar contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS what was written on the placard.)