NYPD Bomb Squad Swarms The Upper East Side Due To IED Probe Related To Protest Outside Mayor’s Residence
Source: The Empire City Wire. A view of 81st and 80th streets facing south from above East End Avenue.
High-end East End Avenue was transformed into a restricted zone Sunday as the NYPD closed off a full city block near the Mayor’s official residence, Gracie Mansion. The heavy police presence followed an investigation into a potential terror plot involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The NYPD issued an alert on X (formerly Twitter) early Sunday afternoon, advising the public to steer clear of the area. "Due to ongoing police activity, please avoid the area of East End Avenue between 81st Street and 82nd Street in Manhattan," the department stated.
The tactical response is directly linked to an ongoing probe into a device that was reportedly thrown during "dueling" protests outside Gracie Mansion. The demonstrations, which centered on anti-Muslim rhetoric and counter-protests, drew a range of extremist figures. Among those in attendance was self-proclaimed fascist Jake Lang.
An anti-Islam protest organized by Jake Land, a pardoned January 6 rioter, drew roughly 20 participants, while a counter-protest called “Drive the Nazis Out of New York” peaked at about 125 people, Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said.
The incident also unfolded during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan outside the home of New York City’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and his wife Rama Duwaji.
“The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb,” Tisch said in a post on X. “It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.”
For New Yorkers, the sight of bomb squad units and counter-terrorism officers in such a quiet residential enclave is a stark reminder of the city's heightened security posture during periods of civil unrest.
East End Avenue is expected to remain closed to both vehicle and pedestrian traffic until the scene is fully cleared.
This is a developing story.
