L TRAIN REALLY DOES STINK
Mystery fumes shut line for 2 hrs.
L train riders smelt it — but it’s unclear what dealt it.
A heavy blanket of foul fumes shut down the L train for a few hours Tuesday as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority struggled to find the source of the stench — and straphangers struggled to hold on to their breakfasts.
Seepage from underground water that might be tainted with toxins or otherwise contaminated was the likely culprit, officials said. But a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation said an exact cause has yet to be determined.
The MTA halted service about 1 p.m. on the crowded Brooklyn line that runs from Canarsie to Manhattan as emergency crews were called in amid worries of a possible gas leak.
But commuters and transit workers had been dealing with the overpowering reek since Monday, when the first reports of a nausea-inducing smell began trickling in.
Among those stricken by the stink was MTA station agent Ana Roca, who had to be taken to a hospital in an ambulance about 1 a.m. on Tuesday — a few hours after starting her late-night shift.
“It was pungent,” said Roca. “It had been like that since Monday morning.”
But Roca’s hospitalization didn’t stop MTA officials from running L trains during the morning rush — and the agency kept the trains going even after dozens of earlymorning riders complained of headaches and nausea from the sickening odor.
“I low key want to puke from the smell in my nose,” straphanger Conz Preti messaged the Daily News just after exiting the subway.
She said the fans inside her car shut off near Lorimer St. as the train was held up for an unknown delay. The stifling smell made nearly everyone sick, said Preti, who added she’s pregnant and the fumes had her worried for her baby’s health. “People were breathing through their mouths and coughing. When we got to Bedford it was terrible,” Preti said.
One L train rider was overcome by the smell about 9:20 a.m., according to a witness. “This guy was standing by the door and then dropped as we approached First Ave.,” Josh Fidanque told The News. “The people surrounding him helped him out. They called for support, gave him water and helped him back up after a few minutes.”
A woman also collapsed just before 11 a.m. on a train stalled at Lorimer St., said L train rider Rachel Pincus.
The young woman keeled over inside the train as it filled with a strong smell of gasoline, according to Pincus.
“The train was stalled there for a long time and fumes were pouring in,” Pincus said. “She came to after [other passengers] helped her into a seat and she seemed OK.”
The odor was so strong around midday that Robert Kelley, a Transport Workers Union Local 100 division chairman, pulled union crews working at the Grand St., Graham Ave. and Lorimer St. stations — while the MTA was still letting passengers onto the trains.
At the same time, TWU Local 100 Vice President of Stations Lynwood Whichard took it upon himself to descend into Grand St. shortly before service was halted and warn passengers to stay out of the subway for their own health.
MTA spokesman Max Young said the agency initially thought the smell was leftover fumes from diesel work trains passing through the stations during construction. The agency later said the ugly odor was the result of “nonflammable heating oil from an external source” leaking onto the tracks.
After the MTA suspended service on the line between Myrtle-Wyckoff Aves. in Brooklyn and Eighth Ave. in Mamhattan, commuters were forced to pile into shuttle buses. Service resumed roughly two hours later, about 3 p.m. — although the foul miasma remained.
Once fire crews and other city agencies arrived at Graham Ave. — where the smell was strongest — the all-clear was quickly given.
“We’ve determined that people should not be concerned,” said FDNY Deputy Chief Vincent Mandala. “Contaminated groundwater was seeping up a bit.”