**Smoky Odor Blankets New York City Following Fires in Brooklyn and New Jersey**

New Yorkers awoke to a troubling smoky odor on Saturday morning due to brush fires that ignited on Friday in areas such as Brooklyn, the Bronx, and across the Hudson River in New Jersey. This unusual event occurred amidst an ongoing drought, making the city more vulnerable to such incidents.

In response to the deteriorating air quality, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issued an air quality alert for New York City, as well as Rockland and Westchester Counties, effective until 11 p.m. on Saturday.

Desi Yvette, a Williamsburg resident, was among those surprised by the smoke. "It was close to 2 and I just stayed up for a while," Ms. Yvette recounted as she walked her dog, Midas, on Saturday morning. Initially alarmed by the smell and the absence of emergency sirens, she was unsure of the cause. Learning about the brush fire that consumed two acres in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, she remarked, "It's crazy that it smells all the way over here."

Governor Kathy Hochul addressed the situation, stating that multiple wildfires were burning throughout New York State. Particularly high-risk areas include Hudson Valley, Long Island, and the Catskills region. The governor noted a "multiagency response" had been deployed to tackle the fires, which were spreading across hundreds of acres in Ulster, Sullivan, and Orange Counties.

The unsettling smoky conditions served as a stark reminder of the environmental challenges posed by the drought, placing the city on high alert for further incidents.