A suspicious device resembling a pressure cooker set off a bomb scare in downtown Manhattan Thursday morning, prompting street closures as dozens of cops flooded the area.
But the gadget, which was wrapped in plastic, was nothing more than an ordinary kitchen appliance — a beverage warmer keeping drinks toasty on the set of “Law & Order: SVU.”
Police were notified about the suspicious device at 60 Centre Street at 11:46 a.m. The appliance had been left on top of a box on a bench in a small park near the Manhattan Criminal Court building.
“The catering company was removing their items onto Worth Street — there was a truck there, we now know,” said Michael Castellano, a captain with the New York State Courts.
“[They were] using the bench closer to the curb as kind of like the wait station… and left that item there in the red carton.”
Cops shut down the surrounding area and dozens of officers, including bomb squad members, responded to the scene.
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