Suspicious odor in New York City

So at around 7:30PM last night I got really annoyed because I thought someone in my house spilled maple syrup. Now... maple isn't a bad smell, but this was just way too strong. After checking the house and realizing it was coming from the open window in the living room I figured it was from a neighbor's house. One neighbor in particular likes to bake, so I just ignored it and hoped it would drift off.

At around midnight I realized I forgot something in my car and went back outside only to find the smell had doubled in intensity. At that point a phone call to 311 (non-emergency nyc hotline) seemed in order. They connected me to the FDNY operator who said "oh yeah the sweet smell? well it's been tested and isn't toxic, but we don't know where it's coming from".

Seems that is still the case, which I consider a bit alarming. This was incredibly widespread. Co-workers who live as far as 10-15 miles away from me also smelled it. There is a widespread concern going on at the local citizen level that someone is not sharing their information.

Any ATS members in the NY area smell it too? Anyone want to take a guess as to what, if any, unpleasantries might smell similar to this syrupy smell?

Anyways, here's some of the few media outlets to mention it:

www.wnbc.com...
1010wins.com...
abclocal.go.com...

Sweet smells usually come when you are dreaming.

So all those people smelling it in Manhattan are dreaming then, riiiiiight...

It sounds like a polystyrene leak of somekind.
This group of chemicals have a sweet smell to them and when mixed with other chemicals can produce other smells such as peanut or almond

I smelled it earlier and they were talking about it on Fox & Friends this morning.

No idea what it is

where in NYC are you?

I live in and work in manhattan and the only smells I get are those of day old garbage and cabbie stench and the random rotting junk food smell from mickey d's on garbage day

Maybe it came from the cake in the refrigerator. Time to go back to bed.

monk84, Djarums' fridge is not stinking up all of New York.
This is not isolated to Djarums.

I guess your right . You can have your cake and eat it too!

Please lets stay on topic, enough of the "it's cake in the refrigerator" or "all of New York is dreaming" comments. This is a serious discussion.

It’s getting close to Halloween. Are there any sweets or candy factories nearby?

In Chicago, at this time of year, when the wind is right, you can smell the chocolate from the Blommers factory all over downtown

Well, ethylene glycol gives off a very sicky sweet smell if it is heated. Is there a nearby factory or such that might have a major coolant leak going on?

Originally posted by HowardRoark
It’s getting close to Halloween. Are there any sweets or candy factories nearby?

Domino Sugar used to have a plant or something in Queens but I am pretty sure that it is gone.


rotting flesh gives off a sickeningly sweet smell. Um, no it doesn't. Seriously, I don't know what dead people smell like.

monk84, if you would have bothered to inspect the given links, then you would have noticed the fact that everyone is reporting it.

I thought I was the only one!

Starting last night I smelt this too. I thought it was just me. It definately smells like maple syrup. I originally thought maybe it was something in my apartment building, but then I went outside and it was faint, but definately there, EVERYWHERE outside. I live near the Union Square area. My original guess was that maybe some local Starbucks dumped a bunch of syrup or syrupy pastries outside somewhere, but if they haven't found the source, then it's probably something further afield.

It really smells like there was a fire in a maple syrup factory. Djarums, where in NYC are you, roughly? I can still smell it today (Friday) but it's not as strong as last night.

-koji K.

[edit on 28-10-2005 by koji_K]

[edit on 28-10-2005 by koji_K]

Originally posted by HowardRoark

In Chicago, at this time of year, when the wind is right, you can smell the chocolate from the Blommers factory all over downtown

I was actually going to mention that I also smelled something strange in Chicago just this morning, but I guess it's not related. It was sweet, but not all that pleasant, more like burning brownies. I guess it was the chocolate place afterall...

Although by the time I got to the office I was getting a little sick to my stomach, it was really strong...

Originally posted by LucyStoner76

I was actually going to mention that I also smelled something strange in Chicago just this morning, but I guess it's not related. It was sweet, but not all that pleasant, more like burning brownies. I guess it was the chocolate place afterall...

Although by the time I got to the office I was getting a little sick to my stomach, it was really strong...

That's a really weird coincidence.

Its being picked up now:

www.breitbart.com...

New York City has many odors, but when the city began to smell a little too good, New Yorkers became alarmed.

Residents from the southern tip of Manhattan to the Upper West Side nearly 10 miles north called a city hot line to report a strong odor Thursday night that most compared to maple syrup, The New York Times reported Friday.

There were so many calls that the city's Office of Emergency Management coordinated efforts with the Police and Fire Departments, the Coast Guard and the City Department of Environmental Protection to find the source of the mysterious smell.

Air tests haven't turned up anything harmful, but the source was still a mystery.

"We are continuing to sample the air throughout the affected area to make sure there's nothing hazardous," said Jarrod Bernstein, an emergency management spokesman. "What the actual cause of the smell is, we really don't know."

Although many compared the smell to maple syrup, others said it reminded them of vanilla coffee or freshly-baked cake. All seemed to agree that it was a welcome change from the usual city smells.

"It's like maple syrup. With Eggos (waffles). Or pancakes," Arturo Padilla told The Times as he walked in Lower Manhattan. "It's pleasant."

Scooter is getting indicted today, terrorism anyone?

Originally posted by Mainer
Scooter is getting indicted today, terrorism anyone?

I think they will wait until they get Rove tomorrow...

Today maple syrup, tomorrow who knows?