Sonic Youth Gossip - New York stinks!

It's true!

NEW YORK, 8 Jan 2007 - Authorities were investigating the source of a mysterious gas-like odor Monday that wafted over a large part of Manhattan, from Rockefeller Center through Greenwich Village.

The Fire Department began getting calls about the odor around 9 a.m. Monday, said spokesman Tim Hinchey. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey temporarily suspended some of its PATH commuter train service between New Jersey and Manhattan as a precaution.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said there was no indication that the air was unsafe to breathe, and he said sensors did not show an unusually high concentration of natural gas.

"It may just be an unpleasant smell," Bloomberg said.

There was a small gas leak in Greenwich Village, but it wouldn't have been enough to account for the pervasive odor, the mayor said.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said there was no indication of terrorism and no credible intelligence to suggest any imminent threat to the city. He said the agency is closely monitoring the situation.

Utility crews from Consolidated Edison were investigating, but they had found no abnormal changes in the gas flow with in its transmission system, said spokesman Chris Olert. "If there was a big leak, we would see a change in the gas flow," he said.

In some areas, office buildings and apartment buildings were evacuated as a precaution.

"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.