The Best Thing About New York City in the Fall

The best thing about fall in New York City is that it smells less like piss.

“There’s something about New York City in the fall,” says DNAInfo. “In honor of this change of seasons, we asked New Yorkers to share their favorite things about being in the city this time of year.” Among the answers:

“Crisp air. Turning leaves. Knicks b-ball”

“Thousands of kids.”

“Leaf-peeping at @TheBronxZoo”

“The return of hot drinks and the natural colors of the season!”

These are all nice things, but none of them are as nice as how, in the fall, you smell less piss. I walk the same block most days, between the unmarked rear of a mixed-use building and the front of the Transit Adjudication Bureau. In the spring, this block, like many blocks, begins to smell like piss. In the summer the piss smell intensifies; by the end of the summer it has fermented. It is overwhelming and distinct: the block does not smell like trash, or rot. Only piss. Old piss. Drying piss. Fresh piss.

In the fall, this piss smell breaks noticeably. This is what is special about New York in the fall: The relenting of the piss. The crispness of the non-piss. The olfactory reminder that all that piss and grime are about to commingle into a thin and scentless winter permafrost that you can either ignore or, in the gray slush season, wade through in boots.

Another nice thing about fall in New York is how sunsets, scattering through the dryer-than-usual air — which no longer smells like piss — display a broader range of colors than in the summer. It is quite beautiful.