Violence mars NYC ball drop amid reports of officers assaulted near Times Square

Police shut down an area of Eighth Ave. near W. 52nd St. in Manhattan for an investigation amid reports of officers assaulted near Times Square as crowds gathered for the annual New Years Eve celebration.

“Expect a police presence in the area and residual traffic delays in the surrounding area,” the NYPD tweeted at 10:37 p.m.

Police sources said initially that none of the injuries reported in the incident around 10:15 p.m. were life-threatening.

But the sources cautioned that officials were still sorting out what happened.

A tweet by the Detectives Endowment Association said the officers hurt in the incident were expected to recover, but did not provide details.

The location, 10 short blocks north and one long block west of the heart of the Times Square, is on the perimeter of a portion of Midtown Manhattan closed off for the annual New Years Eve ball drop.

In an earlier incident around 8:45 p.m., two men were taken into custody after they got into a knife fight at the intersection of W. 42nd St. and 6th Ave., near Bryant Park. One of the men was taken to Bellevue Hospital, and both were taken into police custody.