A predawn blast from an explosive device damaged a sidewalk bench and shattered windows at a Starbucks coffee shop on the Upper East Side on Monday, the police said. No one was injured, but the authorities were investigating whether it was linked to previous blasts in Manhattan.

Residents near the Starbucks, at 1642 Third Avenue, at 92nd Street, were jolted awake about 3:30 a.m., when the device exploded, setting off car alarms.

“It sounded like a bomb, to the extent that I know what a bomb sounds like,” said Casey Mallinckrodt, who lives one block north.

Emergency workers briefly evacuated occupants from five apartments above the coffee shop, in case it had been a gas explosion.