Originally Posted by osamede
what I knew instinctively as "the scent of Manhattan", was in fact the pungent and pervasive aroma of rotting trash! No lie.
I heard that at least a couple of times over the past year that there was a widespread smell of maple syrup
Good Smell Perplexes New Yorkers
Kind of sad though that a "good" smell would be perplexing (because they're so used to the "bad" smells). I couldn't live there myself. I love some things about the city (the people to start with are among friendliest in the world), but even the air feels dirty to me.
I had friends that went to Columbia U, and they said that dishware on the windowsill (for potted plants) would be black within 1 mos time from the dirt. Breathing in that gunk can't be good for your lungs, long-term (shorter lifespan).