Suspicious Package That Closed Flatbush Was Bike Charger: Cops

DOWNTOWN, BROOKLYN — A suspicious package that shut down a few blocks on Flatbush Avenue for two hours Monday afternoon turned out to be a bike charger, police said.

NYPD had rushed to the corner of Gold Street and Flatbush Avenue Extension just before 3:30 p.m. to investigate the suspicious package, a police spokesman said. By 3:40 p.m., the city's Emergency Management department was telling drivers to avoid the area because of a heavy police presence.

The Avenue was closed down to traffic from Tillary Street to Myrtle Avenue, the blocks surrounding the Gold Street corner, for almost two hours as the Bomb Squad investigated the package, NYPD said.

The Bomb Squad determined around 5:15 p.m. that the package was a charger for an electric bike, police said. It was deemed safe and the streets were opened back up by 5:30 p.m.