Emergency measures in New York

New York rations gas after fuel crisis

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that the city will impose an indefinite program of gas rationing after fuel shortages led to long lines and frustration at the pump in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

Press TV,

8 November, 2012

The order, which takes effect from 6:00 am (1100 GMT) Friday, would oblige private owners with odd license numbers to only buy fuel for their vehicles on odd days with a similar restriction applying to those with even-numbered licenses, AFP reported on Thursday.

"Last week's storm hit the fuel network hard…," Bloomberg said when announcing the rationing.

"Only 25 percent of our gas stations we estimate are open," he added.

The mayor pointed out that medical, commercial, and emergency services vehicles are exempted from the order and that police officers will patrol all city gas stations to enforce the restrictions.

“This is not a step we take lightly," he noted, adding, "But given gas shortages and the growing frustrations of NYers, we believe it’s the right step."

The scheme follows a similar rationing regime implemented in New Jersey last week also because of Sandy.

The shortage has also prompted price gouging which has led to fuel being offered at more than twice the industry rate.

Meanwhile, authorities in Long Island, which is also reeling from gas shortages following the superstorm, said they would begin rationing gasoline in Suffolk and Nassau counties starting at 5 p.m. (local time) Friday.

Superstorm Sandy slammed into the East Coast on October 29, killing more than 100 people in the country. 

More NY gas stations ran out of fuel on Wednesday: EIA

Planet Ark,,

8 November, 2012

The New York fuel hub took a step back from its recovery on Wednesday, as more gasoline stations ran dry just a week after Superstorm Sandy struck the U.S. Northeast, a report showed.

Some 62 percent of gasoline stations surveyed by the data arm of the Department of Energy had gasoline supplies on Wednesday, down from a revised 66 percent on Tuesday.

Of the stations included in the survey, 28 percent reported they had no gasoline for sale and 10 percent could not be reached, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

A nor'easter is menacing the region barely a week after Sandy devastated the energy network.