Midtown Manhattan package scare a reminder of NYC's role as terror target

New York City's role as a target for terrorism, along with the unwanted baggage of anxiety and fear, was thrust to the surface Wednesday after the discovery of a suspected pipe bomb at CNN's Manhattan headquarters forced rattled workers and shoppers into busy midtown streets.

Groups of evacuees clustered by the stone walls of Central Park as many searched their cellphones for news about why they were forced to flee the Time Warner Center at nearby Columbus Circle just after 10 a.m.

“It was orderly but surprising,” said Emily Koenig, 23, a CNN production assistant, of the evacuation order she heard while in her eighth-floor office. “People don’t expect something like this to happen.”

The suspected pipe bomb was tucked inside a bulky manila envelope addressed to John Brennan, the former CIA director who is an unsparing critic of President Donald Trump.

Brennan is a contributor at MSNBC, but the package's discovery at CNN resulted in the strange juxtaposition as anchors Jim Sciutto and Poppy Harlow — ordered out of the studio during their morning "CNN Newsroom" broadcast — reported the breaking news live outside as NYPD and FDNY sirens wailed, and the confused and curious crowd listened in for new details.

It wasn't just CNN that was affected by the threat.

Milton Lopez, who works for a catering firm that was setting up inside Jazz at Lincoln Center, had just changed into his uniform when his boss told him they had to leave the building.

“I thought it was a protest,” said Lopez, 22, who lives in the South Bronx. “I feel pretty secure right now — but, yeah, when something like this happens, it doesn’t feel real.”

Owen Jenkins, 24, of New Rochelle, also hastily exited Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he and colleagues at their software company were helping set up an event.

“It’s kind of sad because it’s not really surprising these days,” he said as he stood outside the building. “You are aware of it and you don’t expect it, but you’re ready for it.”

Adding to the confusion, some people had received emergency alerts on their phones, advising them to stay away from the Time Warner Center, while others had not.

“We usually get alarms, but I didn’t get an alert on my phone,” said Johanny Garcia, 22, a trainee for a shopping service inside Whole Foods at the Time Warner Center.

Garcia, who lives in upper Manhattan, said she arrived after the stores had reopened in the early afternoon to find many of her colleagues at the shopping service were gone. Whole Foods employees had returned to reopen the store.

“It’s scary, but I feel like this is something that is constantly happening,” she said. “You just have to be aware of your surroundings.”

By the early afternoon, The Shops at Columbus Circle, a shopping mall in the Time Warner Center, had reopened and were busy with shoppers and tourists. The eat-in tables and checkout lines at Whole Foods were bustling with customers.

Hot dog vendors lined the busy sidewalk alongside the ever-present bike-rental hawkers who congregate at Columbus Circle.

Claire Williams, a tourist from Manchester, England, said the discovery of the package didn't make her nervous about staying in New York but stoked a philosophical view based on her own experience.

Her hometown was the site of a 2017 terrorist bombing that killed 22 people and the suspect at an Ariana Grande concert.

“If you thought about it, you wouldn’t go through your door, would you? You would stay home and not move,” she said. “Fortunately, we have good police forces to keep us safe, so just do what you have to do.”

With AP