FLAMMABLE: Cops and customers step in yesterday as tempers flare at a 7-Eleven gas station in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, that was limiting purchases to $20 per driver. (Paul Martinka)
FLAMMABLE: Cops and customers step in yesterday as tempers flare at a 7-Eleven gas station in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, that was limiting purchases to $20 per driver.
The gas drought got so bad yesterday desperate drivers faced rationing at the few service stations still open.
There was a mob scene at a 7-Eleven station on 65th Street and Third Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, when a delivery of a few thousand gallons arrived yesterday afternoon.
A line of drivers stretched 20 blocks and about 100 people lined up with canisters — only to be told by the station it was limiting purchases to $20 per customer.
At least they had gas. Motorists waited for hours yesterday at a closed Hess station near the Holland Tunnel exit in Jersey City — just in case it got a delivery and reopened.
Daniel Dejesus, 23, arrived at 5 a.m. The line was moving smoothly until 6:30, when they ran out. A man behind the counter said they were waiting for a delivery but had no idea when service would resume.
Dejesus, of Jersey City, and several other drivers decided to wait.
“The cops said the gas would be here possibly 8, but it’s 10 and there’s no gas,” he said. “I’m on ‘E’ from waiting on line.”
“I can’t get to work. I can’t get any gas. I can’t buy food.”
The gas drought is also causing a cab drought. The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission said 24 percent fewer cabs were on the road yesterday morning compared with the same time last week — presumably because they were running low or out of gas.
The AAA said that less than 40 percent of gas stations in the city and suburbs were selling gas.
The problems got so bad in New Jersey that Gov. Chris Christie mandated rationing in 12 counties. Starting at noon today, drivers can only get gas on certain days based on whether their license plate ends in an odd or even number.
Officials said the main problem was the closing of Sandy-ravaged refineries and the inability to distribute already-refined gas from the terminals around Linden, NJ.
But there were signs of hope.
“I think you’re going to see some easement over the weekend. You’ll see normalcy next week,” said Sal Risalvato, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association.
The federal government waived a ban on foreign tankers delivering gas to the region, and Gov. Cuomo waived a tax on tankers docking in New York Harbor.
“There should be a real change. People should see it quickly,” said Cuomo, adding that “millions of gallons” were headed for the city.
The shortages have created mounting frustration, which has translated into line jumpers, fistfights and arrests.
Shayan Behnambakhsh, 20, faces charges of menacing and criminal possession of a weapon after allegedly pulling a pocketknife and threatening to stab a fellow customer Thursday on a gas line on Staten Island’s West Service and Arthur Kill roads.
Also on Staten Island, Leo Kukhar, 21, was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after allegedly getting into a fight at a gas station on Arden Avenue and Arthur Kill Road.
Residents waiting with jugs in a four-block-long line at a Hess station on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn took their anger out on City Hall.
“God bless Bloomberg. He’s doing a great job,” Per Johun said sarcastically after waiting since 3 a.m.
“We don’t have gas. We can’t get to Manhattan,” said Harve Riou, who had been waiting for four hours.
Politicians said the lack of generators at gas stations has to be corrected before the next Sandy.
In New Jersey, two state legislators proposed legislation that would require all filling stations to be equipped with generators.Florida has such a requirement.
And Rep. Steve Israel (D-LI) called on the state and federal government to deliver generators to the Long Island stations that still have gas. He said electrical workers unions had offered the manpower to install them.
New Yorkers extended their search for gas to Connecticut, where they created traffic jams after exiting from Interstate 95.
The gas hunters were “making it difficult for everybody,” said Greenwich Police Lt. Kraig Gray.
Other drivers relied on social media to trade tips about where there was an open station.
On Twitter, hashtags for gas hunters included #nycgas, #brooklyngas and #njgas.
Christie said the solution in New Jersey for motorists in his state was: Go south.
He said that only 25 percent of stations north of Interstate 195 are operating, but that 90 percent south of I-195 are in service. Most of the counties that are under rationing are in the north.
Additional reporting by Liz Sadler, Jessica Simeone and Joe Tacopino