Print Share + Times Square Van Deemed Nothing More Than Nuisance Huge Police Response Owed To New Year's Eve Preparations; Festivities Will Be Unaffected Crossroads Of The World Deemed Safe, Reopened After Suspicious Van Found To Be Harmless
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
A security scare shut down Times Square a day before its New Year's Eve celebration. Buildings were evacuated, and traffic and tourists were cleared out.The NYPD had an unintended test run of its Times Square emergency response, as a flood of cops pushed crowds away from the suspicious vehicle in all directions.The size of the response was due partially to its proximity to Times Square on the day before New Year's Eve, as many of the same officers on the scene Wednesday will be part of the crowd control for Thursday's celebration.The focus of the alert was a suspicious van, and the bomb squad sent in a robot to investigate.A suspicious, unattended van on Broadway, between 41st and 42nd Streets, sent police into high gear Wednesday. They herded pedestrians behind steel barricades and ordered office workers out of their Times Square buildings and into the street."Around eleven o'clock, they started making announcements that they were investigating something," evacuee Marvin Perry said. "Then, about 11:30, they said 'evacuate.'""We had to go through the freight elevator, and now they're kicking us out of the building," evacuee Ken Wang said.The cause of the drama was a 1992 Dodge van with no license plates, tinted windows, and a homemade parking placard from an agency no one had ever heard of  the Detective's Crime Clinic of New York and New Jersey.The bomb squad's robot couldn't figure out what was inside, nor could the bomb-sniffing dog. It was a little unnerving for workers and passersby."It makes me very nervous," evacuee Arlene Hislop said. "I work right here, in this building, and I went out for lunch."Police kept moving people back, block-by-block, until bomb squad members finally opened the van and found nothing inside but bags of clothing, junk, and a temporary registration.The vehicle was, thankfully, nothing more than a nuisance, but it still caused problems. Since it was parked a block from Thursday night's New Year's Eve Ball Drop, it even delayed the rehearsal for the party."We're actually the camera that shoots the ball for the world feed, the robotic camera," New Year's worker Chuck Goslin said. "We're just trying to get up there and set up, and unfortunately, it's right at our position."Police said they are especially vigilant in advance of Thursday's celebration."Its presence in Times Square just before New Year's Eve causes us concern, and that's why we're taking extra precautions," said chief NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne.Managing the New Year is something New York City has down to a science  safe, but not necessarily comfortable."You know, you're bumping, you're trapped," Valley Stream resident Joseph Ostram said.It may look like one big crowd from above, but Times Square on New Year's Eve is really separated into a lot of smaller crowds, segmented by steel gates that are already in place. Revelers enter through a side street and spend the evening in their designated pen, under close watch.The counter-terrorism police who responded to the possibility of a bomb on Wednesday will also be on-duty for New Year's Eve. Some will be watching the crowd through remote cameras and monitoring sensors that can detect radiation or biological agents.As many as 60 officers will be on horseback for more traditional crowd control methods.No alcohol is allowed for the Times Square New Year's celebration, and revelers are cautioned to arrive early.The city's transit agency said several train lines were bypassing 42nd Street, including the N, R and W lines, during the investigation. The crosstown shuttle train had been suspended as well. All service has been restored.
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Photo of suspicious van  
Times Square was shut down today due to a suspicious vehicle parked on 42nd Street and Broadway in New York.  Police cordoned the area surrounding the white 1992 Dodge van to investigate the auto. The van has temporary license plates and tinted windows with tarps covering them.
Photo of the van from the back with doors open 
The nearby NASDAQ building was evacuated, and reports from CBS said the Conde Nast building had been partially evacuated.

The investigation disrupted preparations for the New Year's eve ball drop atop One Times Square, although it still appears that the celebration will continue unaffected.

The investigation comes a day after police commissioner Raymond Kelly was interviewed by local TV outlet, WNBC, about how the city is after recent terrorist activity. "Reality is that New York is the number one target in this country ... But it has been doing more than any other city in America and probably the world," he said on the topic that New York had adequate counter-terrorism procedure. ''Wikinews'' contacted the New York City Police Department, but they had no comment about the specific issue at this time.