Cleaning Substance Triggers Police Action At Port Authority Bus Terminal

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police briefly shut down 8th Avenue entrances to the Port Authority after an unidentified white substance was found at the bus terminal Wednesday morning.

Authorities closed the south wing of the 8th Avenue pedestrian entrance and cordoned off part of the area for investigation after discovering the substance around 9:30 a.m.

By 10:10 a.m. authorities had deemed the the substance to not be hazardous, and later confirmed it just a cleaning material. The rest of the terminal remained open and continued operations during the investigation, though there were crowds bunching up at some places.

As a precaution, Port Authority police had closed the section of the terminal around the site of the substance, forcing people to use the 9th Avenue doors.

The incident began after an unknown person was reported using some type of power washer to spray a powdery substance on the wall on the 8th Avenue side of the building. That person was later identified as a building cleaner.

Instagram user Chuck Privitera posted an update from the terminal.

"Police activity in Port Authority, never fun," he said in his video. "Taking refuge in Starbucks and told I might get stuck in here for a little while. Great start to Wednesday."

Other people captured the confusion when the investigation first began earlier on Wednesday morning.