Campus Alert Archive
Queens College

Two CUNY Campuses in Queens Evacuated After Midday Email Threatens Explosives

NYbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.

On February 22, 2024, Queens College and York College both received emailed bomb threats around 12:50 PM EST, forcing evacuations and a shift to remote classes. NYPD responded and cleared both schools by 2:30 PM after finding no explosive devices. Queens College's evacuation order came nearly two hours after the threat was received, drawing criticism.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Queens College, City University of New York
Public Masters · NY
~20,000 studentsCUNY Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTPush
Verified verbatimGothamist and Audacy 1010 WINS reporting quoting the CUNY Alert push notification verbatim291 chars
Due to a credible threat to Queens College, classes will go remote for the rest of the day as of 2:45 PM on Thursday, 2/22/24. All Queens College campus buildings will be closed today until further notice. If you are on campus, please immediately exit calmly through the nearest safest exit.
Verbatim text composed from two consecutive segments of the same 2:45 PM EST CUNY Alert push, both quoted in Gothamist and 1010 WINS coverage on February 22, 2024
The CUNY Alert was sent at 2:45 PM EST, nearly two hours after the email threat was received around 12:50 PM — a delay later spotlighted by the PSC faculty union
York College had already moved classes remote at 1:15 PM, well before Queens College's 2:45 PM evacuation notice
ALL CLEARPush
Approximate reconstruction173 chars
CUNY Alert Update: NYPD has cleared the Queens College campus. No explosive devices were found. All classes and business services will return to a regular schedule tomorrow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from Fox 5 New York and QNS coverage
NYPD cleared both Queens College and York College by approximately 2:30 PM EST
The paradox of the timeline is that NYPD cleared the campus around the same time the evacuation order went out
Context

Background

On February 22, 2024, two CUNY senior colleges in Queens received emailed bomb threats around 12:50 PM EST. York College in Jamaica moved to remote classes at 1:15 PM, but Queens College in Flushing did not issue its CUNY Alert evacuation notice until 2:45 PM, nearly two hours after the threat was received. NYPD responded to both campuses and found no explosive devices, clearing both schools by approximately 2:30 PM. The delayed response at Queens College drew sharp criticism from the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the CUNY faculty and staff union, which questioned why the evacuation was not ordered immediately and why the CUNY Alert system notification came so late. The incident highlighted ongoing concerns about emergency communication at CUNY's multi-campus system, where individual colleges may respond at different speeds to the same threat.
Analysis

Key Findings

York College evacuated nearly 90 minutes before Queens College despite both receiving threats at approximately the same time
The nearly two-hour delay between threat receipt and evacuation order at Queens College drew criticism from the PSC faculty union
NYPD found no explosive devices at either campus, confirming the threats were hoaxes
Outcome
NYPD found no explosive devices at either campus. Both Queens College and York College resumed regular operations the following day. The delayed evacuation at Queens College prompted questions about CUNY's emergency communication procedures.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    2 CUNY campuses in Queens evacuated due to bomb threat: NYPD (Gothamist)
    gothamist.com
  2. News
    Bomb threat forces lockdown at York College and Queens College (Fox 5 New York)
    fox5ny.com
  3. Source
    QC evacuation delay spotlights CUNY exec (PSC CUNY Clarion)
    psc-cuny.org
  4. Student Paper
    Queens College Receives Bomb Threat (The Knight News)
    theknightnews.com
Tags
bomb-threatevacuationhoaxnew-yorkcunydelayed-responsemulti-campusemail-threatHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion