Funky smell consumes Staten Island neighborhood as city struggles to find source

A strong smell on Staten Island has one neighborhood wondering what in the world they've been breathing in for the last several months.

As New York City and environmental officials try to figure out what's causing the stench, some Bulls Head residents say it's even getting difficult to stay inside their homes. 

"To a point where you want to gag"

Neighbors on Merrill Avenue have been asking the city about the funky odor since the fall. Annette Caragiulo, whose lived there since the 1970s, said she's never smelled anything like it.

"Rotten eggs, to a point where you want to gag," she said. "The smell is so strong, it takes my breath away." 

Caragiulo said the smell even seeps into her car. 

Kim Sietz said she smells it coming from the hookup that connects her house to the sewer main. She said she made several 311 calls about it since October, but they kept getting dismissed, until earlier this month. 

"I didn't even know where the smell was coming from, so I opened this up and it comes right up out of here," Sietz said. "Finally doing something about it." 

"Nausea, headaches, migraines"  

Contractors came in after more neighbors got involved.

"It still smells," Sietz said.

She's worried her kids are getting sick because of the smell. 

"Nausea, headaches, migraines, just sick to your stomach," she said. "Every day." 

On top of that, Sietz is one of a few neighbors on the block trying to sell her house. She fears the smell is making potential buyers think twice. 

"We all should know what our children are smelling, what I'm smelling. What was here for that amount of time? Why were we all getting sick?" she said. 

NYC investigation is ongoing

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection said it's aware of the foul odor and inspected the neighborhood's sewers. 

"Crews inspected and cleaned the sewers at Merrill and Graham Avenues and found all infrastructure to be operating as intended. We have also installed filtration devices in nearby sewer manholes to help reduce odors. DEP is currently monitoring the situation through wastewater and air sampling, and our investigation into the cause remains ongoing," the department said in a statement to CBS News New York. 

New York City Council Minority Leader David Carr sent a letter on Friday to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene urging them to further investigate the smell. 

"It's absolutely frustrating because I want to get an answer as badly from them as they want it," Carr said. "It's not good enough for them to say they're trying and trying and not succeeding, and we're gonna make sure they succeed at the end of the day."

Carr said he hopes to get the smelly situation resolved by the end of February, before temperatures start to rise.