Gas-like odor permeates parts of Manhattan, NJ

NEW YORK -- A mysterious gas-like odor covered parts of Manhattan and New Jersey on Monday, leaving people from Rockefeller Center to the West Side Highway, down to the West Village and across the Hudson River wondering what they were smelling.

The odor set off concern around the city, disrupting some transit service, prompting office buildings to evacuate and leading hundreds of people to flood 911 dispatchers to figure out what was happening.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said there was no indication the air was unsafe to breathe. "It may just be an unpleasant smell." He said sensors did not show an unusually high concentration of natural gas.

The smell caused some commuting problems. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey suspended PATH train service between New Jersey and 33rd Street in Manhattan.