What to Know
- Authorities are responding to an apparent gas leak in Brooklyn's Greenpoint neighborhood
- Multiple buildings on Freeman Street were evacuated
- It wasn't clear what caused the leak; no injuries were immediately reported
An apparent gas leak forced authorities to evacuate multiple buildings in a single Brooklyn neighborhood Tuesday, fire officials said.
The FDNY said seven buildings on Freeman Street in Greenpoint were evacuated as a precaution over elevated gas levels around 2 p.m.
Orinially, the FDNY evacuated five buildings on the street — numbers 74, 77, 79, 81 and 89.
It wasn't immediately clear how many people the evacuations affected.
According to FDNY Chief Jim McNally, there had been construction on the block and the workers broke a gas main. They had apparently thought they fixed it and subsequently paved over it, but the leak continued. Firefighters were standing by for National Grid to arrive and fix the issue.
McNally said that although the smell remained, the gas had been shut off
No injuries were immediately reported.
