The gas leak smell all over Manhattan? It's the most bizarre thing. It's on the front page of cnn.com if anyone wants to read about it. I smelled it on my way to work this AM.

Yes, and it's awful. My office let us go home if we felt uncomfortable (especially after Macys was evacuated which is right across the street from my building right over Penn Station), and since a couple people started feeling nauseous, I decided to go. Better safe than sorry, especially considering people were told the air quality was fine after 9/11 and it now turns out that it was anything but.

Boy, when that mayor of yours lets a big one it really IS big LOL

I'm out of town but saw this on CNN. Has the source been identified?

I think they identified the smell as "New Jersey"

There is a gas leak in the W. Village, but you can smell it all over Manhattan.

Here's what's being reported on CNN.com. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/08/nyc.odor/index.html
I doubt it's anything dangerous, but it's still weird that a gas leak could be smelled from the Village to Jersey. There were plenty of people that did stay in the office and are walking around, so there doesn't seem to be any hysteria. Just another New York day.

My husband says he smelled it...and that he wasn't going to light any matches.

Just finishing watching "The View"--Rosie reported the source of the stink as. . .DT

Heard the Mayor speak of it on the news. Apparently it is covering parts of Manhattan and New Jersey. He mentioned the gas leak in the Village but he felt it wasn't big enough to because the smell in such a widespread area.

LOL TrvlMaven!

For the smell to be that strong, with no concomitant explosions, the problem can't be gas but must be a spill of a barrel of the agent that's put INTO the gas to make it smell (mercaptan).

Revision to my comment above: Given the odorant potential of mercaptans, and today's weather conditions in Manhattan, a gallon would be sufficient to cause the current ruckus.

Gotravel--it was pretty funny. I only watched because I wanted to see what the reaction would be after all the "brouhaha". BW actually said that everything DT claimed the BW said was not true. Interesting.

You are correct, it's the additive that smells.

This makes you think about biological weapons and how fast they could spread on a day like today.

Mercaptan molecules are tiny and volatile; biological threats like viruses or bacteria would not dissipate in the air in the same way.

Austin TX has a freaky odor too. Dozens of birds were found dead in the streets. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/200...hile-out-west/

Everyone RELAX.

It was just the Jets and Giants returning home.

Go EAGLES!!

Now that's funny, greenhouse.

Hadn't heard about the birds, GBelle. That is strange.