Police are on the scene near the intersection of Montgomery and 8th Ave. Many bomb squad vehicles have been up and down 8th Ave over the past several hours, police have been seen wearing oxygen tanks, and helicopters are now buzzing overhead. The streets have been closed between 7th and PPW between Garfield and Union, although at approximately 6pm the police seem to have adjusted the boundaries of the closed area to include more of 7th Avenue. More details on the Park Slope Message Board.
UPDATE: turgg reports that the commotion was the result of a grisly skydiving accident.
UPDATE 2: Other blogs as well as your intrepid correspondent report that the cause was actually a suspicious package.
UPDATE 3: Flexichick managed to unearth info on the biggest non-news event of the summer. Looks like it was numerous suspicious briefcases, duffel bags, and suitcases scattered all over North Slope. The Daily News has the scoop.
there was at least one black suitcase on eight avenue, in a cirle of yellow police tape at around 4.p.m. – a small hazmat unit nearby, investigating it, the police did not allow the resident to stay too long to observe how and when they took the suitcase with them, two hours later both the suitcase and the yellow tape were gone.