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Upper West Side Residents: Fashion Week Generators Pollute Air, Make Too Much Noise

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - While the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week may be fabulous for some, many people on the Upper West Side say it is making their lives miserable.

Amid the glitz and glamour is the smoke and stench of power generators.

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WCBS 880's Sean Adams reports from near Lincoln Center

The event used to be held in Bryant Park, which was in the middle of a largely commercial area, but now it is stationed at Lincoln Center, which is surrounded by a highly residential area.

The drone of the nine portable diesel generators, used to power Fashion Week's lighting, heating and blow dryers, can be heard 24 hours a day.

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Residents across the street from Lincoln Center at the Amsterdam Houses say the air is thick with exhaust. "Last night, I feel like I'm even suffocating," said one man.

Another person told WCBS 880 reporter Sean Adams, "I catch asthma attacks more often now since they've been here."

Fashion Week organizers tell the New York Times that the generators meet all city standards.

City environmental officials say a low sulfur fuel is being used, but the generators don't have particulate filters.

Residents lament they already live with trucks and buses. Fashion Week is just making the air worse.

If it's any consolation, Fashion Week ends today.

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