it's a very sad story, part to blame is the NYC bureaucracy, it's almost impossible to gut proper building permits in a sensible manner without bribery stop order and expediters.
all the guidelines and reviews they require while they give you the go around backlashes to doing things without any oversight.
when I lived in Brooklyn my CO detector went off, it was Shabbos I wasn't sure how to handle it, so I went outside thinking that the proper approach would be to call coned or FDNY to check it out, I was advised against it and to just open the windows, "If you call them they will shut your gas and it will stay that way for a couple of months till they have an appointment for you and it needs to be signed off by a licensed plumber" so being too strict doesn't help what you're trying to accomplish, you want a safe city stay balanced, all the best ~WayBackMachine
when I grew up not in the city anytime we had a smell or leak and wasn't sure where it's from we would call the utility company they would send someone down to check it out and ten minutes they would be gone, and BTW having an open window even a crack is always a good idea, unless if you live in Lakewood, you don't want unwanted visitors
