Mysterious Gas Smell Covers Manhattan

9:30 A.M. Numerous [reports] of a mysterious gas smell have come in from all over Midtown Manhattan. Local gas company Con Ed has issued an official statement indicating they are unaware of what the smell may be. Reports have also come in that the smell is present in parts of New Jersey. The approximate area if the odor is said to extend from Midtown Manhattan (roughly 55th St.) down to Battery Park (lower Manhattan near Wall St.) from the East River to the Hudson River (the West side of Manhattan). Other reports claim the smell reached as high as 88th St.

*Some reports claim the smell was "first" reported in Weehawken and Jersey City, New Jersey before reaching Manhattan.

**NJ Path Train service has been suspended between 33rd St. and Journal Square.

***Numerous buildings have been evacuated. Also, the 23rd St. subway platforms (not the trains) in Chelsea have been evacuated.

10 A.M. UPDATE: Maria Pignataro, spokesperson for the Jersey City mayor's office, claims the smell originated from the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan near West 4th and Bleecker. No other sources have confirmed this report.

UPDATE: Con Ed and PSE&G confirm that they have no gas leaks reported in their systems.

UPDATE: NY Press can confirm that despite reports to the contrary from Jersey City official Pignataro, there is no strong odor in the West 4th and Bleecker area.

Mayor Bloomberg is scheduled to hold a press conference addressing the mattter momentarily.