Union Square Park in Manhattan erupted in scattered scenes of chaos on Friday after a throng of what the police estimated to be more than 1,000 young people descended on the area, attracted by the chance of receiving video game consoles being given away by two YouTube streamers.
The streamers, Kai Carlo Cenat III and Fanum, had announced that they planned to hand out PlayStation 5 consoles at the park at 4 p.m. The two men are members of the streaming group AMP; Mr. Cenat’s YouTube channel has more than 3.6 million followers.
As 4 p.m. approached and the huge crowd grew restless, the Police Department initiated a Level 4 mobilization — its highest-level response. When the time scheduled for the giveaway passed and it did not happen, patches of pandemonium broke out amid the crowd.
Some people hurled water bottles, basketballs, a computer and fireworks onto the streets. One group of young people pushed back against police officers carrying riot shields as they tried to move in to make arrests. A knot of more than 200 people standing near a flagpole at the center of the park directed a vulgar chant at the police.
Officers made some arrests, but a police spokeswoman said details were not immediately available, nor was information about possible injuries. With the melee continuing above ground, subway trains skipped the Union Square station below.
One of those in the crowd, Josh Ortiz, who lives in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, said he was at the park to see the two YouTube personalities.
“I just came out because I wanted to see them,” Mr. Ortiz, 18, said. “I think a lot of kids thought they could get a free PC or PlayStation and start making money, but I just wanted to see Kai. He’s the biggest Black creator in America right now.”
He said things had initially been peaceful but that a few people had “started going crazy.”
“It’s between bothersome and funny,” he said. “There was a big explosion just a second ago, but if you know, like I do, that it’s just kids with fireworks, then it gets kind of funny.”
Mr. Ortiz said Mr. Cenat deserved some blame for the chaos.
“It’s kind of Kai’s fault,” he said, adding that the event “wasn’t planned well” and that Mr. Cenat could have chosen “a more open area.”
As the scene in the park unfolded, a large group of teenagers swarmed the entrance of a nearby Best Buy store, prompting workers to lock the doors.
“These guys are huge,” said a 21-year-old gamer from Queens who would identify himself only as Zap. He said that 90,000 people had been watching Mr. Cenat’s livestream several days ago when he announced the giveaway.
Adam Mass, a 20-year-old student from Brooklyn, said he had come to the park after hearing about the pandemonium.
“I heard they were out here,” Mr. Mass said of the two streamers, whom he referred to as a “big deal.”
“I didn’t even want to get a giveaway,” he added. “I knew something was happening, though, so we came here.”
Hurubie Meko contributed reporting.