Metadish, Fresh from NYC

Probably the most newsworthy thing to happen in New York in the past year is the gas smell that everyone noticed as it wafted through the city yesterday. The stench brought up fears of terrorist attacks, made people feel a collective nausea all over Manhattan and forced parents to pick up their kids early.

Many even took it as an excuse to hightail out of work prematurely. Howard Stern ended his show early. Workers at Ann Taylor’s Loft in Times Square thought to themselves, “There is no way I am risking my life for this place,” and left ASAP.

And what could have been the cause for the odor that caused panic, but no injuries, to ripple through the city?

Officials point their fingers at New Jersey, of course.

Charles Sturcken of the city Department of Environmental Protection said the agency was “pretty sure it came from New Jersey.”

The exact source, he believed, is the heavily industrialized Hudson County waterfront with its chemical plants and port terminals as well as the Secaucus area. His best evidence is that seven people in the Garden State were briefly hospitalized as a result of exposure to the stench.

Whatever the cause, officials are in a tough place right now as they try to convince people that, whether true or not, there is nothing to fear.

‘It came from New Jersey’ [New York Daily News]

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