Suspicious package was pressure cooker left on subway platform, police say

Bomb squad officers responded to a report of a suspicious package on a subway platform in Manhattan on Friday night but the item turned out to be a pressure cooker that someone had left behind.

The 7:27 p.m. incident on the mezzanine level of the F train at Essex and Delancey streets caused a stir initially but police said the device was inspected and deemed harmless.

It was an unattended pressure cooker with wires sticking out and a timer built in by the factory, according to an MTA source.

MTA spokeswoman Amanda Kwan said because that location also houses the Essex Street station for the J and M lines, trains for the three lines had to bypass the area until police said it was safe for service to resume there, at about 9 p.m.