NEW YORK (AP) – A suspicious letter with a powdery substance forced the New York Times building in Manhattan to be closed Friday. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani confirmed that police were investigating the suspicious letter.
A Times spokeswoman would not say what kind of threat was received. However, the threat was received within an hour of an announcement that an employee of NBC Nightly News had tested positive for skin anthrax.
No one was allowed on 43rd Street outside the Times building. Workers at the newspaper were told to stay in their offices. An employee reached by phone said that the third floor newsroom was evacuated. Police set up barricades at 43rd Street and Broadway.
An advertising saleswoman at the paper said she was not allowed back inside the building when she returned from a meeting. Sara Stein, 31, said she phoned a co-worker who told her that men were walking around in hazardous material suits. The co-worker told her that everyone was told to stay where they were.
