East Williamsburg Residents Complain Of Mysterious Onion Smell
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – There's something going on in one Brooklyn neighborhood that doesn't pass the smell test.
As CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported, some residents in East Williamsburg say they're smelling a very distinct yet unusual aroma in the air.
Adding to the mystery, nobody can figure out where it's coming from.
"Strong. It hits you as soon as you leave the apartment," said Michael Cucinotta.
He said as crazy as it sounds, his nose knows. After the last three years around Montrose and Graham avenues, as he walks his dog Midas in the morning, he has been baffled by the unexplained smell of onions.
"It goes for blocks," he said.
Not just any onions.
"Definitely sautéed onions," he said.
Cucinotta said it doesn't happy every day, that it comes and goes randomly. He said he has no idea where it's coming from, and it's driving him a little meshuggeneh.
"Where is it coming from? Where? I just want to know," he said.
To get to the root of the pungent predicament, Cucinotta posted all about it on the neighborhood website Next Door. Low and behold, he found he's not the only one who's noticed the onion oddity.
"You can ask anybody in this neighborhood," another resident said.
Theories abound about a possible cause – everything from the neighborhood's many restaurants and bodegas to a nearby industrial park. Still, not body really knows.
While there are those who say they've never smelled it, CBS2 reached out to the city's department of environmental protection, which said it will be sending a crew to the area to investigate the smell.
"It's onions," Cucinotta said, certain his nose knows.