Dead body found wrapped in sleeping bag on New York City sidewalk

A dead body was found wrapped in a sleeping bag on top of a dolly along a New York City sidewalk Friday, according to police. 

The shocking daylight discovery was made after police responded to a 911 call about a suspicious package in Manhattan’s East Side neighborhood of Kips Bay just before 5 p.m., the NYPD says. EMS responded to the location and pronounced the person dead. 

Video from the scene shows the dark-colored sleeping bag with the body inside atop the dolly surrounded by black trash bags which were waiting for collection. The dolly was tied to a scaffolding railing by a red strap. 

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A dead body was found wrapped in a sleeping bag on top of a dolly along a New York City sidewalk Friday.  (Ted Oehmke)

Ted Oehmke, who shot video of the grim scene from inside a friend's building, tells Fox News Digital that on Thursday night he noticed a BMW SUV parked next to where the body was found with its hatch open. The vehicle was not there on Friday afternoon. 

He says he is baffled by the discovery. 

"That's a lot of trouble to go through… and then to do all that and then just drop it on the sidewalk," he said. "If they don't get caught I’ll call them geniuses because, with the cameras and everything, I don't know how you would expect to get away with [that]."

The cause of death is unclear and police have not publicly identified the body. The Medical Examiner will ultimately determine the cause of death.

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The body was found outside Apel's Alterations, pictured in 2022. (Google Maps)

Oehmke says he saw police open the top of the bag, and it appeared to show a white or Hispanic man in his 60s. 

The body was outside a now-shuttered alterations store called "Apel’s Alterations." The owner died a few years ago, Oehmke says. 

Oehmke says he has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, and it is known for people sleeping rough.

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Police and onlookers at the scene where the body was discovered. (Ted Oehmke)

"For some reason, I'm just not really surprised. I don't know, I guess it doesn't happen that often, but I see people sleeping around here in all kinds of ways too," he said. "Sleeping in the garbage or curled up and stuff, and it looks like people are dead. I've seen people that I thought were dead before, but they're actually alive."

"There’s a lot of activity around here. The Bellevue ‘psych’ hospital is down the block and the largest men's shelter in the city is here," he added.

No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing, police say.