Who knew that America’s armpit could smell so sweet?
Turns out the syrupy smell that has wafted across the Hudson from time to time for the past three years was coming from New Jersey all along.
“I think it’s safe to say that the Great Maple Syrup Mystery has finally been solved,” Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday.
“It just happens to be one of the aromas that we’re going to have to live with in a city like New York.”
Department of Environmental Protection investigators discovered that a North Bergen food additive company, Frutarom, was processing fenugreek seeds – which are used to flavor imitation maple syrup – on Thursday night, when Gotham got its latest noseful.
But the source of the essence – described as smelling like everything from pancakes to hazelnut coffee – has eluded city officials since the city first got a whiff in October 2005.
The baffling bouquet has sparked flurries of concerned calls to 311 as well as a gaggle of theories as to the source – from a ship passing through New York harbor to antifreeze to “rebel” trees to a Canadian invasion.
Using a combination of wind patterns and a map of clusters of 311 calls, the sleuths were able to sniff out the source of the elusive essence – food additive and fragrance manufacturing plants in Bergen and Hudson counties.
“I love the smell. It’s like breakfast,” said David Vermeal, 21, a clerk at an electric supply company who lives near Frutarom. “In the summer I make sure my windows are open.”
But Eugene Marinzulich, 55, who also lives nearby, said: “It’s a sickly sweet smell, especially in the summer. It can get pretty nauseating, but there are worse smells around here.”
The mayor said that Frutarom, which did not appear to be breaking any rules, might not be the only olfactory offender.
Frutarom was sour on the news.
“The naming of our company as one of those potentially contributing to this condition came as a surprise to us,” the company, which is headquartered in Israel, said in a statement.
“Fenugreek is a natural product that has been produced here for over 30 years in compliance with all laws and regulations.”