New York City has been receiving a record-breaking amount of foul odor complaints lately. But the complaints are not due to the stench of dirty streets, trash or personal hygiene – the biggest offender is marijuana smoke.
"The number one thing I smell is pot," said NYC Mayor Eric Adams when asked about a recent report on the New York Post regarding odor complaints reaching an all-time high. "It's like everybody is smoking a joint now, you know? Everybody's got a joint." (Related: NYC Mayor Adams tells city-dwellers to "pack a bag" and brace for impending nuclear holocaust.)
"Maybe I have a New York nose," added Adams. "I'm not smelling, you know, filth." But he noted that thousands of others are smelling the odor of marijuana smoke.
According to the report, complaints about outdoor smells to 311 – New York City's non-emergency assistance hotline – soared by 54 percent in the first six months of the year compared with the first six months of 2021 to an all-time high of 5,746 foul odor complaints through June 30.
Adams said the majority of the complaints involved people smoking marijuana while idling in their vehicles. He then vowed to "make sure we enforce the idling law."
Despite the rise in odor complaints and the results of a recent survey by Time Out magazine showing that New York City is the second-dirtiest city in the world, the mayor still insists that the piles upon piles of trash and rats running wild in city streets are not that bad. He placed the blame on street vendors and store owners for not tidying up the sidewalks.
"I think the city is getting – it's getting cleaner," he claimed. "But store owners have to do their job too. Everyone has to sweep up in front of your spot. You got to bag your garbage. Everyone has to chip in to do so."
NYC stinks: More New Yorkers complaining about foul odor – not just from weed smoke
Despite Adams' claim that the city is getting cleaner, New Yorkers don't seem to agree with him.
"Every morning, I smell like a rancid smell, like rotten food that has been sitting there for a while," said Justin Colon, a porter for an office tower at Times Square. "I clean the steps going down to the subway. I've cleaned up poop so many times. This morning, I was cleaning up poop."
Jaiden Williams, a tech worker, described the city's stench as "gnarly and cadaverous."
"Either you don't come out of your house or you just deal with it," added Williams.
"No matter what you do – if you douse yourself in a bottle of perfume or Chanel No. 5 – the scent is still on the tip of your nose," said one student from Hell's Kitchen. "Because it's so hot, it permeates."
Milly Aldon, a fashion worker from Manhattan, called the city "an alive city that smells like death." "It's a rotten, lingering smell, and if it rains, it smells even worse," said Aldon.
Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs Joshua Goodman of the New York City Sanitation Department (DSNY) refused to confirm the exact number of foul odor complaints the city has received, claiming other departments might also be receiving these complaints. He said that if the odor came from an unknown source, it could be routed to 311, while foul odor from a neighbor could go to the New York Police Department or a different agency.
DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch recently announced that the department has received more than $40 million in additional funding specifically to deal with street cleanliness. Goodman called this the "highest level of litter basket service ever," and will allow the department to "vastly expand precision cleaning in the neighborhoods of the greatest need."
"This is a level of funding for cleanliness that New Yorkers have never seen before," added Goodman. "It means litter baskets across the city are being emptied 50,000 more times per week, to use just one example."
"Every New Yorker knows that the city became noticeably dirtier during the pandemic as behaviors changed and budgets were cut," continued Goodman. "But we're fighting back. The 10,000 DSNY employees work everyday to keep the city clean, safe and healthy and that's why this administration is giving them the tools to do the work they get up every day to do."
Watch this clip from Fox News as Laura Ingraham questions whether there is a connection between marijuana use and crime.
This video is from the News Clips channel on Brighteon.com.
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