Suspicious device in park near Gracie Mansion 'non-threatening,' NYPD says

A suspicious device Tuesday in a park near Gracie Mansion was “cleared and determined to be non-threatening,” the NYPD said, the day after two men where charged with bringing homemade bombs to a protest in the same area.

Officers early Tuesday afternoon had cleared the public from the vicinity of Carl Schurz Park on East End Avenue between East 85th and East 87th streets, and from East 86th Street between York Avenue and East End. Gracie Mansion, at East End and 88th Street, is the official residence of the New York City mayor.

Hours after the first alert, the NYPD posted on social media that someone from the public had alerted the police to the device.

“The device in Carl Schurz Park has been cleared and determined to be non-threatening,” the post said. “This was an instance of everyday New Yorkers following a clear message: If you see something, say something.”

On Monday, a counterprotester who was accused of hurling a homemade bomb during a Saturday clash with anti-Islam protesters near Gracie Mansion, and an accomplice, were federally charged with terrorism, in an attack that the men allegedly said was ISIS-inspired. The men were involved with planting a second device and a third device was found in a car connected to them, prosecutors said

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.