A man placed a seemingly suspicious device in a phone booth in Chelsea early Tuesday morning, but police determined it was a hoax.
The man, wearing a white baseball cap and a gray, hooded sweatshirt, propped the large device up inside the booth near the corner of Fifth Avenue and 25th Street about 3 a.m., police said.
The device was made up of a black pipe attached to two pieces of wood with a white cord. A red, flashing LED light was also attached to it, police said.
A doorman working in a building nearby discovered the device and called the police. They then determined it was a hoax, police said.
The man then calmly walked south on Broadway, police said.
