NYC’s Woolworth Building evacuated over unfounded bomb threat
The Woolworth Building in Manhattan was evacuated Saturday afternoon as police investigated a bomb threat that turned out unfounded, cops and sources said.
Traffic along Broadway — between Chambers and Barclay streets — was shut down as authorities performed a clean sweep of the 58-story building at 233 Broadway, sources said.
The phony bomb threat was called into 311 around 2:40 p.m. and the landmark building was subsequently evacuated.
“They just calmly told us to leave,” said a 46th-floor building resident who did not want to give his name. The resident said a doorman knocked on his door and instructed everyone to get out.
The NYPD confirmed the incident and said the building, which has commercial and residential tenants, was evacuated “due to an abundance of caution.”
The building was deemed safe and the street was reopened by 5 p.m., an NYPD spokesman said.
“It’s very scary,” said Mark Borow, 66, who lives nearby. “A, it’s in the neighborhood but B, because it’s the Woolworth Building. This is one of the great buildings of the city. It’s always one thing after another in this neighborhood.”
Designed by architect Cass Gilbert, the early American 792-foot skyscraper was the tallest building in the world from 1913 to 1930, according to history.com.
The Tribeca locale is less than one-half mile from the 9/11 Memorial and Museum on Greenwich Street.
