STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Blame it on the weather.
A snow-related misunderstanding led to a major NYPD response at a home in Annadale on Thursday morning, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
An item reported as a suspicious package at 106 Edgegrove Ave. turned out to be a battery for a snowblower, according to the source.
No criminality is suspected in the incident, according to a spokesman for the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.
The snowblower was used in the storm that recently dumped a foot of white powder on Staten Island.
Some type of miscommunication about the battery led to a call to 911 at about 4:30 a.m., according to police.
The report prompted an intense response that included the Bomb Squad and the Emergency Service Unit.
The NYPD responds to the vicinity of Arden and Edgegrove avenues in Annadale on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.(source photo)Investigation lasted hours
Police reopened Edgegrove, off of Arden Avenue, around 9 a.m. after blocking the street for hours during the investigation. Caution tape and a marked police van prevented cars from driving between Arden and the dead end at the woods.
Plainclothes law-enforcement officers were seen going in and out of the home where the item was found.
A woman who lives at that address told the Advance/SILive.com that “an item was left outside her front door.”
The NYPD responds to the vicinity of Arden and Edgegrove avenues in Annadale on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.(source photo)Neighbor woke to knock on door
A neighbor who declined to have her name published on the Advance/SILive.com described waking to a tense scene as the major police response unfolded on her block.
The police “just knocked on the door and told us to stay in the house because there was a device on the block. I actually didn’t open the door because I wasn’t sure if it was an actual cop,” she said.
Initially, she didn’t see any marked police cars.
“It was kind of scary to be woken up at 5:30 in the morning like that,” she said. “We were told to evacuate or stay in place. They didn’t give us much information, that’s for sure. They just told us there was a possible device on the block and wouldn’t even tell me what kind.”
The NYPD responds to the vicinity of Arden and Edgegrove avenues in Annadale on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.(source photo)
The NYPD responds to the vicinity of Arden and Edgegrove avenues in Annadale on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.(source photo)