From midtown to lower Manhattan and over into Jersey City, there’s a strong smell of natural gas. They have suspended PATH trains into Manhattan. There may have been puncture in a gas main, but the Jersey people say that it happened in Manhattan and the city people say it’s Jersey. Typical. Bloomberg is giving a press conference in a few minutes.
From NY1. Some buildings are now being evacuated. My husband who is in Times Square is still in his office.
10:38 — They are evacuating buildings. They have no idea where this gas leak has come from.
11:09 — Bloomberg says that the sensors aren’t picking up high levels of natural gas. The gas companies in NY and NJ aren’t picking up any decrease in pressure, so they don’t think the gas came from them. The smell is definitely mercaptan, an additive to natural gas. He said that it isn’t dangerous. Husband said that he smelled the gas when he arrived in Manhattan shortly after 8:00am.
Apt. 11d 
Mercaptan was chosen as an additive for natural gas because it’s nontoxic and you can smell it at EXTREMELY low levels, and it’s disagreeable. Makes it very attractive for a practical joke, if that’s what this was.
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Ya’ll need to stop eating beans, that’s the problem.
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Boy, did I panic yesterday morning. I felt a bit like a drama queen, when it all turned out to be nothing. Looks like it might have been “swamp gas” from the Meadowlands. Why does Jersey always have to live up to its reputation?
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