mystery of mysterys in the big city of babylon

Read this NY times article about a strange smell in NY. Actually, K and I smelled this in our apt last week. I thought it was the heating system going on for the first time but it smelled very strongly of maple syrup. Then I heard about this article. And then I smelled it again yesterday near Juilliard. It's unsolved. Mr. Padilla was not alone. Reports of the syrupy cloud poured in from across Manhattan after 9 p.m. Some feared that it was something sinister.