L Train Stink Fills Subway For 4th Day, Riders Say

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A gassy smell on the L train that shut down the subway line for hours on Tuesday is still sickening riders and workers, despite MTA officials maintaining that the air is safe to breathe.

Riders said Thursday morning that the smell still seemed the strongest in the Graham Avenue station, where MTA officials determined Tuesday that leaked heating oil had caused the stench. The agency shut down the subway line Tuesday to investigate the smell, but reopened it hours later and said the air quality was safe.

"They say it's safe, but why are my eyes watering? Why do I feel like gagging?" one rider, Jerry Holste, said as he left the Graham Avenue station Thursday morning. "This is unconscionable."

Holste, who said he rides the L each day, said the smell has made him feel ill since he noticed it a few days ago. He became especially scared when he thought he might get stuck breathing in the smell because of signal delays on the subway line.

Other riders online have said they noticed headaches, a heavy chest or blood in their mucus after their commute. At least one rider passed out while riding the train earlier this week.

At least four MTA workers have also fallen ill because of the fumes and had to be sent to the hospital, a union spokesman confirmed Thursday. Some workers have taken to wearing masks on the trains while others have been pulled by the union for fear of exposure.

More action will be taken if the situation is not resolved soon, said Tony Utano, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 100 chapter in Brooklyn

“The L-train situation is completely unacceptable," Utano said in a statement. "The air still stinks and we are concerned about long-term exposure and the health of our members working 8-hour shifts along the line...if the situation is not abated over the weekend we will take further action to protect the safety of our members and that of the riding public.”

One MTA worker at the Graham Avenue station, who was not wearing a mask, said crews appearing to investigate the problem have been in the station all Thursday morning. He wasn't bothered by the smell given he worked from an enclosed booth, he added.

MTA officials first told riders the smell was from diesel trucks doing work in the tunnel and waterproofing work at a station, but realized when the smell didn't dissipate that there must be another source. The investigation Tuesday revealed the leaked heating oil.

Department of Environmental Conservation and FDNY experts determined the air to be safe and continue to monitor it, Chief Safety Officer Pat Warren said in a statement Wednesday.

"I want to reassure all New Yorkers the the air on the L train and in the stations is 100 percent safe," Warren said. "We have removed almost all of the non-flammable heating oil near the Graham station and continue to vent the nearby stations as aggressively as possible."

But many riders, workers and politicians have demanded more answers from the MTA. The agency did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

"L train riders and MTA staff deserve answers and they deserve action to clean up the potentially toxic fumes that have been plaguing them," Councilman Rafael Espinal said Thursday. "No one should have to risk getting sick to get to work."

The transit union did not immediately return a request for comment.

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.