The explosion occurred around 21:00 (01:00 GMT on Sunday).
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CNN Justice Correspondent Evan Perez says police are combing through the video and that it likely shows someone dropping or leaving something behind, leading them to the conclusion this was an intentional act.
Reports suggest 25 people were injured. None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening, officials told WPIX.
The FDNY and NYPD Counterterrorism Unit are on the scene.
Residents living nearby were advised to stay away from windows facing the street as a precaution, and the item was later safely moved to a police firing range for further examination, officer Christopher Pisano said.
The explosion went off early this morning on 23rd and 6th Avenue in the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan, a bustling district in NY.
Later, a device was found inside a plastic bag in the area. Several blocks have been closed down by police.
Authorities have confirmed it was a deliberate act.
At the moment, Republican nominee Donald Trump is alleged to have been briefed about the explosion in NY ahead of his speech at the Congressional Black Caucus gala.
“We believe it was intentional”, de Blasio said.
De Blasio said the explosion had no terrorist connection and wasn’t related to a pipe bomb explosion earlier on Saturday at a charity run in New Jersey.
The device was placed in a garbage can.
None of the officials would say at this point what was inside the pressure cooker.
Right now, it appears that the explosion took place outside on the street. “My 10-year-old boy was sat in the back seat of the vehicle, and the explosion blew the back window out”.
It’s not clear at the moment who was behind the blast and what motivated it.
“Pictures on my wall fell, the window curtain came flying as if there was a big gush of wind”, she told Reuters news agency. He and others went to see what had happened: “People from my building and I were literally the first people there”.
Chelsea is among the most fashionable districts of Manhattan and its bars and restaurants are usually crowded at the weekend.
An explosion was reported at around 8.30pm local time in Cheslea on 23rd street between 6th and 7th avenues.
Police officers and counterterrorism officers were now searching the streets around the scene to check for additional explosive devices.
“We felt the shock wave through our bodies”, he said.
Jakir Aussin, who works at a Dunkin Donuts at 23rd and Sixth Avenue told the New York Post: “It was a quiet night, and then I heard this deafening boom”.
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Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, on her campaign plane returning to NY, said it is important to know the facts before making conclusions “because we are just in the beginning stages of trying to determine what happened”.
