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South Brooklyn is fuming.
Sheepshead Bay has reeked of gasoline fumes for weeks — but no one has any idea where the headache-inducing stink is coming from.
Pockets of the nabe have been living under a constant cloud of the unmistakable petroleum smell since at least late August, leaving residents frustrated with the lack of action to diffuse the smell.
“I just want to be able to breathe without breathing in gasoline. You can’t even say, ‘I’m going out to get fresh air!’” fumed Helene Leone, who has lived on East 19th Street since 1959.
“I get headaches. My eyes water. I wonder if I should be concerned about that, if I should be running to the doctor.”
Residents pointed to that block off Voorhees Avenue as the worst, and potentially where the plague first identified itself.
The stench seemingly wafts from manhole covers and sewer catch basins, leading neighbors to initially question if there was a gas tank leak from the nearby gas station.
But then similar complaints started popping up on the other side of Sheepshead Bay — and even as far as Coney Island and across the water in Manhattan Beach.
One neighbor, Diana, created a self-reporting map of the smell to hopefully aid officials in identifying a pattern of what she called a “suffocating” stench.
“At what point is it considered an emergency?” Diana said.
“I’m really nervous about everything just combusting at some point.”
The smell is constant, rain or shine, but the intensity of the stench is dependent on how strong the winds are on a given day, residents say.
“I’m concerned for the dogs. I’m concerned for the kids. This is not something that they need to be exposed to. This is vapor that is not healthy. End of story,” said Tzipporah Simon, 64.
“If you stand here long enough, your throat will start to burn. Your eyes will start. It’s impossible to stand in one place. You just can’t. The fact that nobody’s really, at least to my estimation, doing their due diligence to really find out what’s going on, I’m just disgusted.”
Numerous city and state agencies say they have been investigating the reports, but have yet to identify the source of the gasoline smell.
National Grid was on site this week and last, but tells The Post that all samples for gas leaks came back at 0 percent.
The FDNY and Department of Environmental Protection have also responded to numerous complaints, with the latter agency flushing out sewers and conducting air sampling.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation, which is now leading the head-scratching investigation, has also probed reported spills, registered and former petroleum bulk storage sites and gas stations in the area.
“There is no definitive evidence at this time of the source of the odors. Once found, DEC will hold the responsible party accountable for the impacts faced by the South Brooklyn community and the environment,” the NYSDEC told The Post.
An interagency meeting focused on solving the mystery is on the books at the behest of Councilmember Inna Vernikov.
“I take quality of life issues very seriously and recognize the unknown can be very stressful for the community. We must get both: a fix and answers,” Vernikov told The Post.
“My team is determined to see that the source of the odor is identified and the problem is resolved, and we will continue pressing every relevant agency until there are answers and a resolution.”
But the lack of answers has done little to quell South Brooklyn residents’ fears over the long-term health impacts.
Simon, who has been begging for answers daily since first reporting the smell seven weeks ago, says the slow response is just par for the course for Sheepshead Baysters.
“Our lovely mayor-wannabe-idiot. He’s got more time that he needs to spend in front of the mirror learning how to smile for his constituents … Because to me, it’s an ‘I don’t give a shit attitude about the people who live here,’” said Simon, a 30-year resident of the nabe.
“It gets incredulous. Triangulate the area, figure it out, get the people in here. I told [National Grid], ‘You’re cleaning here with a squad, you need a platoon.’”
