Mysterious gas odor in NYC and Jersey City

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PATH train service suspended btn. 33rd Street and Journal Square and 33rd Street and Hoboken; Bergen Co. schools shuts all doors & windows

New York-WABC, January 8, 2007) - The odor of natural gas was reported across Midtown Manhattan, prompting hundreds of calls to emergency workers.

Eyewitness News is told the smell was first reported in the vicinity of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street around 9:00 a.m.
Hundreds of calls poured into city emergency officials. Apparently the calls are coming from Chelsea, Battery Park west, Madison Square Park, and there are also reports of the gas smell outside of our studio on 66th Street and Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side. A very similar smell was also reported in Downtown Jersey City.

Con Edison officials said they are investigating the source of the leak. PSE&G and Con Edison says all systems are normal.

The NYPD says there is no gas main break in the city. The NYPD has taken air quality tests and determined that the air is not hazardous.

The NYPD says Con Ed has told them that there has been no drop in pressure in the City.

Eyewitness News has also learned that some eastern Bergen County schools were closing for the day..

A report from Jersey City's mayor says they have pinpointed the smell to West 10th and Bleeker Street in Manhattan. Apparently, at the address of 191 West 10th Street at the corner of Bleeker, there is construction going on and firefighters have apparently been in that area at least twice today to check things out. They have not pinpointed any problem at that site.

"The smell was very strong. It was very scary," said Yolanda Van Gemd, an administrator at ASA, a business school near the Empire State Building that was evacuated as a precaution. In August, seven people were treated at hospitals after a gaseous smell in the boroughs of Queens and Staten Island.

No injuries were immediately reported as a result of the leak. The office of emergency management was investigating.

This smell of gas seems to have permeated the city due to the winds. Bill Evans says there are two factors involved:


The Southwest Wind: The wind is light and out of the south but it is out of the southwest at about 6 to 10 mph. So you've got a wind pattern that is running from the southwest and across the northeast and the city. The wind pattern is running right up the west side and right across Central Park.

The Low Ceiling: The ceiling of the clouds is right at the top of the buildings and so that is capping that gas as it comes out of the ground and up. That's why the smell is permeating so widely across the area because the southwest wind is blowing it into the cloud cover and is really catching the particles of gas and holding it. As the ceiling continues to let up the gas smell will continue to dissipate.
Transportation Affected:



The NYC Transit Authority is telling us the F station at W. 23rd St and 6th Ave has been evacuated as a precaution. This station is shared with the PATH line  and as we've reported, PATH train service has been temporarily suspended between 33rd Street and Journal Square and 33rd Street and Hoboken due to emergency activity.

NJ TRANSIT is cross honoring PATH tickets until further notice and will continue service into New York City.

There is normal service from New Jersey to the World Trade Center station.
Schools:

Bergen County schools will not close. OEM tells Eyewitness News that the schools are going to a "shelter in place" policy. This means that all windows and doors must be shut and no outside activities are to take place.