^ The buildings are well insulted due to cold winters. But a lot of buildings in NYC lack centralized air conditioning so people will inadvertently leave windows open. All it takes is one window open and the smell will creep across the entire building. The messages being sent out by the news and on social media were more about staying indoors and limiting strenuous activity, not necessarily closing all windows, which should have been a point of emphasis. I was running around my building at work shutting down windows after things got really really bad.
US...NYC...mid town pano from Weehawken... by
udo soehngen, on Flickr