Alongside the year-round fears of pedestrians in New York City — plummeting into a sidewalk cellar or being hit by a car — the winter season ushers in another potentially deadly menace: falling ice.

Ice can form on pretty much any New York City building, from low-rise tenements to luxury high rises. Railings, rooftops, ledges and even windows provide surface area for drops of cold water to transform into ice.

The danger of whizzing icicles is not new: The police warned of “falling ice slabs” from Manhattan towers in 1939. But the threat is greater today because of a surge in new, angular towers that reach soaring heights and are built from materials like glass and steel that actually promote more ice growth. The acceleration of climate change may also contribute to icing issues.

On Sunday morning, the police closed three blocks of Central Park South to both cars and pedestrians as ice fell from towers and crashed to the ground and into the park.