Metro

Rice cookers shut down NYC subway station

A pair of suspicious rice cookers shut down a subway station in Lower Manhattan on Friday morning — but the NYPD’s Bomb Squad later determined they were not explosives, authorities said.

Another cooker was found near a garbage can in Chelsea just over an hour later. It was determined safe just after 9:40 a.m., according to cops.

Police urged straphangers to avoid the Fulton Street subway station because of the first two packages, which were reported by a 911 caller.

Police outside of a downtown subway station in New York.
Police outside a downtown subway station in New York.Robert Miller

The station was evacuated out of “an abundance of caution,” a police spokesperson said, before the Bomb Squad cleared the devices.

Mayor Bill de Blasio told New Yorkers that the NYPD has information about “a potential suspect.”

“I want everyone to know nothing of danger has been found and there’s no indication of any further activity,” Hizzoner said on WNYC.

“This is the classic ‘If you see something, say something,’ but based on everything we know right now, we have an all-clear,” he added.

In a tweet, the department said, “Expect a police presence and emergency vehicles in the area. Check @NYCTSubway for possible schedule changes. More info to follow.”

People appeared to be generally unfazed by the scare and took it in stride.

“It’s good that they’re taking all these precautions but it seems like it was deemed safe, so I think we’re a little anxious to get back to our day,” said Joe Vieitez, 28, who works nearby.

Therese Brand, 61, of Queens, said she left her office when she got an alert on an app — but insisted that “no terrorist is going to scare me from doing my job.”

“If a bomb goes off, that building is coming down and we’ll be in the middle of it,” she said, but added: “I’m used to a lot of this stuff. I was working at 30 Main St. when I saw the towers go down on 9/11.”

Delays and changes to service were reported on the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J and Z lines due to the investigation, according to the MTA.

This photo provided by NYPD shows a suspicious object which looks like a pressure cooker or electric crockpot on the floor of the New York City Subway platform.
This photo provided by NYPD shows a suspicious object that looks like a pressure cooker or electric crockpot on the floor of the subway station.AP