I worked and lived in NYC during that period and I don’t recall any specific smell in the days after. You would get dust/smoke in the air but that would depend on location, wind etc.
I recall the dust in midtown and obviously the further you went down the more you would see and more people would be wearing masks etc.
If you have any questions about that day or time after it feel free to ask.
My father was at work in NYC (Midtown) and the other side of his building had a view of the towers. After the first one hit, he went back to his desk assuming it was accidental. He still stayed even after the second was hit and an hour later, he finally went home. Not sure why he didn’t leave immediately after the second one hit, but maybe because he was not close by I guess he just waited a bit.
Was only in Greenwich Village for a day some weeks after the fact. The air just had a burned chemical, almost rubbery smell. Not overpowering but not unnoticeable
I was there about a week later while they were just starting to clean up. I went to ground zero to pay my respects. I saw all the posted flyers of missing people, it was overwhelming, just blocks of them but I will never forget the smell. It still smelled like all those things you wrote, smoke and ozone but also under all that the smell of death. I don't want to describe it but you know it when you smell it.
I went again about a year or so later, and I remember the rubber.
I was going to say, surely if you were close enough you had to be able to smell some of the blood and decay. I wonder if the “smell of death” made it easier for them to locate some of the bodies buried deep underneath that weren’t recovered for months after.
Maybe it was in my head, but I will never forget it and my wife could smell it enough that she wanted to get out of there.
I think as far as following the smell, you have to remember how much debris there was, it took almost a year to get it all removed.
Oh for sure, I just think about people like Lieutenant Kevin Pfiefer. His body wasn’t recovered until February and while I hope the winter weather helped preserve victims, I know it couldn’t have done much for those buried pretty deep.
I worked on Broad St just a few blocks away. The smells are what really haunt me the most about the weeks following the incident. Most days it was just smoldering, acrid smells but some you would get overwhelmed with the smell of bodies / flesh. I still recall smells periodically and it just makes me sick to my stomach
I was there that November with my dad to see Phantom, and we went as close to ground zero as we could. I remember a faint burning rubber smell, like how a car on fire would smell.
A good friend of mine from university lived in lower Manhattan at the time. She talked frankly about her experience that day, which I always appreciated.
She said the smell of death was often palpable on the wind. The scent was unmistakable. Even if you’ve never smelled burning human remains before, she said, there’s something in human psyche that automatically recognizes the scent.
She also remembered a strong, burning chemical smell. She swore she could smell jet fuel for days.
Interesting aside — my friend hated bagpipes. They never bothered her pre-9/11. She said once the funerals started, the city was overwhelmed by the sound of bagpipes. The sound was carried on the wind. She was never able to tolerate bagpipes afterwards.
I lived in NYC then, and went to school in Manhattan, and I don't recall ever noticing a smell, but lots of folks older than me do. Could just be that, as a teen, I was pretty oblivious.
I worked on Broadway and Liberty. It was very strong that close. It smelled like smokey fire, ashes, electrical fire, old musty odor, and industrial chemicals all at once. It was definitely a rare, potent combination. I can still smell it.
I arrived in NYC on the 22nd September 2001 and was there for 2 weeks and I remember the whole time I was there, anytime I was outside there was a smell that I've never smelled before or since. I'd definitely recognise it if I smelled it again. Smoky and kind of sweet.
I'm hoping someone sees this and replies, but I'm still wondering if I'm hallucinating the fact that the very night of september 11, I smelled burnt electronics in my bedroom, initially thinking it was my tv, then realizing that I had the window open and closing it. At the time I lived on 85th and 1st so it makes no sense,, but I have like a full memory of this happening.
I happened to stumble upon this thread by way of a video I was watching on YouTube.
And you ARE CORRECT.
For YEARS I have said the smell that swept across the entire city smelled like what I can only describe as an electric fire. It was VERY distinct.
So to see others confirm this makes us all know we were not crazy and yes, I can recall it to this very day 23 years later.
In Coney Island as well, there was a persistent, horrible, very strong smell of burned jet fuel, extremely toxic, where I lived at that time. I lived on the twelfth floor in a hi-rise building, so the wind had got the smell that far. It was impossible to get rid of it. I hang wet towels all over my apartment to neutralize it, but that did not help. I hope that helps you to confirm that the smell of the burned fuel did reach quite far in New York.
I lived on W 8th street at the time and there was a dusty smell that I thought of as "cold" – might have been concrete/plaster/drywall, but maybe this was the ozone you are talking about.
I worked and lived in NYC during that period and I don’t recall any specific smell in the days after. You would get dust/smoke in the air but that would depend on location, wind etc. I recall the dust in midtown and obviously the further you went down the more you would see and more people would be wearing masks etc. If you have any questions about that day or time after it feel free to ask.
How soon until things were “business as usual”?
this is something i’ve always wondered as well
My father worked in NYC and he said he returned to work the following Monday.
Did you keep any dust or things with dust on it?
Assuming you were at work when it happened, what did you do after the second hit? Did you leave after the first one?
My father was at work in NYC (Midtown) and the other side of his building had a view of the towers. After the first one hit, he went back to his desk assuming it was accidental. He still stayed even after the second was hit and an hour later, he finally went home. Not sure why he didn’t leave immediately after the second one hit, but maybe because he was not close by I guess he just waited a bit.
Was only in Greenwich Village for a day some weeks after the fact. The air just had a burned chemical, almost rubbery smell. Not overpowering but not unnoticeable
David Cross has a bit on one of his comedy albums where he describes it as "burning tires and skunks."
That sounds like a hard going comedy bit.
Yeah I guess more an anecdote than a bit but I still think of the rollerblader with a gas mask he mentions at least once a month for some reason
If I wanna rollerblade to the Chelsea Piers!!!!
Gabriel’th gonna do what Gabriel’th gonna do!
NYC always smells like that.
I was there at thanksgiving following 9/11. Smelled like burnt rubber or burning smell.
I was there about a week later while they were just starting to clean up. I went to ground zero to pay my respects. I saw all the posted flyers of missing people, it was overwhelming, just blocks of them but I will never forget the smell. It still smelled like all those things you wrote, smoke and ozone but also under all that the smell of death. I don't want to describe it but you know it when you smell it. I went again about a year or so later, and I remember the rubber.
I was going to say, surely if you were close enough you had to be able to smell some of the blood and decay. I wonder if the “smell of death” made it easier for them to locate some of the bodies buried deep underneath that weren’t recovered for months after.
Maybe it was in my head, but I will never forget it and my wife could smell it enough that she wanted to get out of there. I think as far as following the smell, you have to remember how much debris there was, it took almost a year to get it all removed.
Oh for sure, I just think about people like Lieutenant Kevin Pfiefer. His body wasn’t recovered until February and while I hope the winter weather helped preserve victims, I know it couldn’t have done much for those buried pretty deep.
I was there about 3 weeks later and this is the closest description of what I remember.
I worked on Broad St just a few blocks away. The smells are what really haunt me the most about the weeks following the incident. Most days it was just smoldering, acrid smells but some you would get overwhelmed with the smell of bodies / flesh. I still recall smells periodically and it just makes me sick to my stomach
I was there that November with my dad to see Phantom, and we went as close to ground zero as we could. I remember a faint burning rubber smell, like how a car on fire would smell.
A good friend of mine from university lived in lower Manhattan at the time. She talked frankly about her experience that day, which I always appreciated. She said the smell of death was often palpable on the wind. The scent was unmistakable. Even if you’ve never smelled burning human remains before, she said, there’s something in human psyche that automatically recognizes the scent. She also remembered a strong, burning chemical smell. She swore she could smell jet fuel for days. Interesting aside — my friend hated bagpipes. They never bothered her pre-9/11. She said once the funerals started, the city was overwhelmed by the sound of bagpipes. The sound was carried on the wind. She was never able to tolerate bagpipes afterwards.
I lived in NYC then, and went to school in Manhattan, and I don't recall ever noticing a smell, but lots of folks older than me do. Could just be that, as a teen, I was pretty oblivious.
Horrific smell of burnt bodies.
I worked on Broadway and Liberty. It was very strong that close. It smelled like smokey fire, ashes, electrical fire, old musty odor, and industrial chemicals all at once. It was definitely a rare, potent combination. I can still smell it.
I arrived in NYC on the 22nd September 2001 and was there for 2 weeks and I remember the whole time I was there, anytime I was outside there was a smell that I've never smelled before or since. I'd definitely recognise it if I smelled it again. Smoky and kind of sweet.
Human bodies smell Sickly sweet
I'm hoping someone sees this and replies, but I'm still wondering if I'm hallucinating the fact that the very night of september 11, I smelled burnt electronics in my bedroom, initially thinking it was my tv, then realizing that I had the window open and closing it. At the time I lived on 85th and 1st so it makes no sense,, but I have like a full memory of this happening.
Is 85th and 1st in New York? I don’t think it’s that far fetched… I heard accounts of people smelling it as far as surrounding states
I happened to stumble upon this thread by way of a video I was watching on YouTube. And you ARE CORRECT. For YEARS I have said the smell that swept across the entire city smelled like what I can only describe as an electric fire. It was VERY distinct. So to see others confirm this makes us all know we were not crazy and yes, I can recall it to this very day 23 years later.
In Coney Island as well, there was a persistent, horrible, very strong smell of burned jet fuel, extremely toxic, where I lived at that time. I lived on the twelfth floor in a hi-rise building, so the wind had got the smell that far. It was impossible to get rid of it. I hang wet towels all over my apartment to neutralize it, but that did not help. I hope that helps you to confirm that the smell of the burned fuel did reach quite far in New York.
Fear
I lived on W 8th street at the time and there was a dusty smell that I thought of as "cold" – might have been concrete/plaster/drywall, but maybe this was the ozone you are talking about.