A mysterious prankster emerged from a sidewalk grate in the Village to toss a smoking road flare into a trendy sidewalk restaurant before disappearing back underground, witnesses said.
“I saw him come out — it was like Ninja Turtles,” said Anthony Curko, 32, manager at celebrity hotspot Da Silvano.
“The customers stood up. They were nervous and scared. They said the smoke was burning their eyes.”
The surprise attack hit Bar Pitti, the Sixth Avenue eatery adjacent to Da Silvano, at about 6 p.m., cops said.
Smoke from the flare even disturbed “Charmed” actress Rose McGowan.
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The nut popped out of a grate and tossed the flare into Bar Pitti’s outdoor-seating area.
The swanky restaurant is an Italian favorite of the art and fashion elite.
“It was that red smoke, like a police checkpoint type of thing,” said Curko. “It was just a quick shot. No one knew what the hell it was.”
Nobody was injured.
Cops said the smoke-bomb hurler — who was caught on surveillance footage — wore a shirt emblazoned with a US flag, a baseball cap and was in his 30s.
