A lot of people are saying the East Village smelled like smoke or burning tires or something tonight

[Photo tonight by William Klayer]

Seriously folks, why does the East Village/Lower East Side smell like burning rubber right now?

— Mikey IQ Jones (@thegreatiq) February 23, 2015

@evgrieve know what that burning smell is? smells like a fire in a restaurant, part electric part meat

— beth rosner (@beth_rosner) February 23, 2015

Why is the east village filled with smoke? Hope people are ok...

— Ali B. Goode (@AliBrmBrm) February 23, 2015

Please tell me I'm not the only one smelling a LOT of smoke in #AlphabetCity #EastVillage #LowerEastSide area right now...

— Madi Tsuji (@MadiTsuji) February 23, 2015

Anyone else smelling heavy smoke in the air on the #LowerEastSide #EastVillage #NYC?

— Tom Krieglstein (@tomkrieglstein) February 23, 2015

There hasn't been anything official yet … just a few reports of several manhole fires tonight… here and elsewhere…

@thegreatiq @evgrieve many fires/smoke in manholes. observed 3: 5th/C, 6th/C 7st/BC popping & smoldering earlier tonight

— WiFi-NY (@WiFi_NY) February 23, 2015

Breaking: 11th Street shut down; some sort of 'nasty-smelling smoke'

Thanks to EV Grieve reader Patrick for the photo and info:

"They've shut down 11th btw 1st and 2nd aves. Some sort of nasty-smelling smoke coming from a grate/manhole. They've got con-ed emergency crews on the block."