New York, New York - A bustling central New York City street was shrouded in vapor when a pipe carrying steam for heating homes and businesses unexpectedly failed on Wednesday, partially closing the busy tourist area.

Plumes of steam escaping the centralized heating and hot water system that runs under the city's streets are not uncommon, but New York Mayor Eric Adams said locals were recommended to wear masks as a precaution.

Some steam pipes are lined with asbestos, an insulating material associated with lung cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

"The cause of the leak is still under investigation... we don't have any reported injuries thank God," he told journalists.

"We have a pretty big area we need to clean," said the city's emergency management commissioner Zachary Iscol, referring to the risk of asbestos contamination.

The Manhattan district known as Midtown East is speckled with bars and restaurants popular with tourists and visitors and sits close to the city's hugely popular Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and lights display.

It was cordoned off by firefighters and police as engineers in full-body protective suits and respirators worked to fix the failure which happened in the early hours of Wednesday.

According to utility company ConEd, its Manhattan steam system serves "more than three million New Yorkers."

"We provide customers with heat, hot water, air conditioning, humidification [and] dry cleaning," it says on its website.