Residents in one Brooklyn neighborhood are concerned about a mysterious, overwhelming stench that has been compared to “sewage,” “feces,” and “something dead.”
Neighbors in Park Slope have been complaining for months about a strange odor on the southwest corner of Prospect Place and Sixth Avenue, and several who spoke to Thursday’s Post said they noticed the odor this week. He said it was becoming more persistent.
“On Monday, I was sitting in my car eating lunch…I smelled it in my car.” [with the windows closed]. “We had to spray a little air freshener in the car,” said office manager Enja Newman, 29, adding, “It smells like sewage, a mixture of poop and urine.”
Newman said he first smelled the unpleasant odor in October, but his employer, B&A Appliances, had to close the windows to keep the smell out.
“When it gets to about 50 degrees, it gets pretty strong. That’s when I wear a mask. I’m used to the effects of coronavirus,” he said of his strategy to avoid the stench.
On Thursday afternoon, the Post observed what appeared to be human feces near a metal drainage grate on a busy street corner, but it was unclear how long the waste had been there. Or whether that was the source of the acrid odor was not clear.
“It stinks!” I’m not happy,” said Scott, 38, a filmmaker, adding: “I stay away from this corner.”
“It smells like sewage. It’s a terrible smell,” said a local nanny as she passed by the site with a stroller.
“I’m glad I don’t live around here,” she said.
Some feared that the funk would influence young people in the neighborhood.
“There’s a playground over there on 19th Street. The wind carries it over there. It’s not good. [for] Children,” said Angel Nunez, a freelancer who has lived in Park Slope for more than 20 years.
“I can’t take it anymore. I’m about to pass out,” he said, leaning back and pulling his jacket over his nose to block out the unpleasant smoke.
“If it’s still there over the weekend, I’ll call 311, but if nothing is done, I’ll call my (city) council representative and get back to you from there. I’ll let it go. “No. Something needs to be done,” he insisted.
Local mother Julia Collazo told the Post that she called 311 after becoming overwhelmed by an unpleasant smell while walking in the area with her daughters on Wednesday.
She described it as “like feces or something dead” and said the odor was so strong that she checked her youngest daughter’s diaper and even the family’s shoes.
“that [was] We had to put Lysol on and clean our shoes because it smelled like it was coming out of the ground,” she recalled.
311 “didn’t say anything,” but Collazo asked on Facebook, Park Slope Together, if anyone else had noticed the odor, and received more responses.
“Yes, I had to check my shoes to make sure I didn’t step on anything,” one person replied.
“I walked my dog over there this morning and he actually started having a dry cough and just left,” chimed in another man.
A third commenter, Sam Thomson, said the scent “smells like hot diarrhea”.
“There was definitely a strong smell of sewage throughout that block.” [Wednesday afternoon]” Thomson added in the post on Thursday.
The city Department of Health said it would investigate the report, but could not immediately confirm whether it had received any complaints about the report or the suspected feces.
The Ministry of Health and Safety and the Ministry of Environmental Protection did not comment.
