Authorities were investigating the source of a mysterious gas-like odor Monday that wafted over a large part of Manhattan, prompting the evacuation of some building and the suspension of some rail service, AP reported. Officials were quick to allay public fears as the odor spread almost to the northern edge of Manhattan, with federal authorities saying that terrorism was not suspected. The Fire Department began receiving 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 would not 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. Crews from utility company 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. Olert said the company fielded hundreds of calls from people concerned about the odor, from as far north as Washington Heights to as far south as Greenwich Village and as far east as Lexington Avenue. 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. In August, seven people were treated at hospitals after a gaseous smell in the boroughs of Queens and Staten Island. Natural gas is odorless; it is the chemical that is added to it that gives it the recognizable odor.
