MIDTOWN — Hundreds of people were evacuated from a Midtown office building after a gas leak near West 37th Street Thursday afternoon, according to the FDNY.
There were reports of a gas-like odor on Seventh Avenue at about 3:56 p.m., an FDNY spokeswoman said, causing more than 400 people to be forced out of 498 Seventh Ave.
"It smelled like rotten eggs," said Al Berg, 52, the head of security for Liquidnet, a brokerage firm on the 15th floor of the building.
But despite the size of the building, he said the evacuation went smoothly.
"From the time I knew, it was less than five minutes until we were out," he said. "It was crowded, but orderly."
Both firefighters and Con Edison workers were on scene working with jackhammers to excavate the source of the leak — a cracked 8-inch main — outside the building's entrance on 37th Street.
Traffic was delayed on Seventh Avenue between 36th and 37th streets, an FDNY spokesman said. Pedestrians were not allowed anywhere near the scene. Foot traffic was blocked off on Seventh Avenue between 36th and 38th streets and also on 37th street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue.
There were no reported injuries.
There was no information immediately available Thursday evening about when the gas would be back on and people would be allowed back in the building.
But on Friday morning shortly after 10 a.m., a Con Edison worker at the site said the cracked main had been fixed, and people were being allowed in and out of 498 Seventh Ave. once again.
