Councilman David G. Greenfield is calling on the state and federal government to take immediate action under the state of emergency declared in response to Hurricane Sandy to end the ongoing gas crisis in New York City that continues to cripple the economy and force residents to endure unacceptably long wait times at gas stations. Councilman Greenfield is also demanding answers from the federal Department of Energy, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as to why this situation has continued with no relief in sight, while other neighboring states have not faced similar shortages.
“I share the outrage of the countless residents and business owners who have called me in search of answers to this unacceptable situation. Officials at all levels of government must make solving this issue a top priority as we continue to recover from Hurricane Sandy. The impact this shortage is having on our city is crippling and cannot continue. I am demanding that real steps, including gas rationing, be immediately taken to abate this shortage, and that the city and state provide clear answers to the public,” said Councilman Greenfield.
Councilman Greenfield is calling on the governor and mayor to put restrictions in place to help alleviate the strain on gas supplies, including instituting a rationing system similar to the one imposed in New Jersey – something Greenfield called for in New York days ago. The rationing system would allow drivers to fill up only every other day depending on their license plate number. Greenfield is also seeking to limit the amount of containers individuals are allowed to fill at the pump to a maximum of 10 gallons to help reduce lines and the potential for gas hoarding. Finally, in order to bring long-term relief to motorists, Councilman Greenfield is calling on the federal government to increase the amount of gasoline it is allocating to the New York area, and for officials here to ensure that these supplies reach local gas stations as quickly as possible.
As the gas shortages and long lines at local stations have persisted, the problem has begun impacting a huge segment of the city’s population, beyond motorists who rely on their vehicle to get to work or school. Businesses have suffered greatly due to the inability to make shipments or receive deliveries and the inability of their customers to reach them. Equally frustrating is that on major streets like Coney Island Avenue in the Councilman’s district, businesses are complaining that metered parking spaces are now inaccessible due to lines extending along the roadway from a nearby gas station. More critically, residents who need to get to the doctor or hospital for life-saving medical treatment have been endangered.
The shortage has forced the city to divert a large police presence to maintain order at gas stations following several reports of violence between drivers waiting in line at a time when all available officers are needed in neighborhoods devastated by the storm to prevent looting and residential burglaries. In addition, two officers were injured in Bay Ridge after they were struck by a car driven by a man who got into an argument at a gas station there. The shortage has also contributed to a price increase of nearly 10 cents per gallon, created a black market with gas being offered online and on street corners at prices of up to $20 a gallon and led to price gouging by some taxi drivers.
As a public servant who needs to travel around his district by car, Councilman Greenfield is experiencing the same problems as his constituents. Just the other day he made a midnight trip to New Jersey to fill his tank with gas. Councilman Greenfield is trying to use technology to inform his constituents. He is constantly providing the public with updates on local gas availability through his Twitter handle, @NYCGreenfield, and he spearheaded the creation of the hash tag #NYCgas that hundreds of New Yorkers are now using to find gas.
“This situation has gone on for far too long without any real action or answers from the mayor or governor. As the community’s elected representative, I am demanding answers on why we are still in this situation and what exactly is being done to resolve it. Simply put, this is a failure of leadership and we need answers and action now,” added Councilman Greenfield.
(YWN Desk – NYC)
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25 Responses
Finally!!! I’m sure the mayor has no problem getting around.
I read somewhere that there is a shortage of ethanol. I’m not sure why this should affect us more than other states. Maybe there is not enough refined gasoline with the formulation required in NY by federal regulations. Anyways, there is an answer out there although I doubt we will be told.
Finally !! one politician has spoken , what took so long I don’t know but better late than never , just for being an oppurrunist he will get my vote.
The other guys are still listening to the weather channel a whole day
The problem with rationing is that one ,it won’t help the situation what we need us more gas
Two ,the media will make it look good
that there are no lines but in reality it is because there is no gas!
Three,in Brooklyn there are so many people it will still be chaotic.
Hikind are you there? I guess we will find out Saturday night .
It is insane that I have to wait 5 hours to fill up at a gas station 100 yards from my home in brooklyn, but if I drive across the Goethals Bridge and choose a random gas station in Linden or elizabeth (this morning was elizabeth) I can pull up to a pump and be taken care of by the attendant and on my way in less than 5 minutes.
Perhaps the tankers cant afford the round trip toll for the goethals and verrazanno bridges.
Now that everyone is scared and wants to drive around with their tanks full all the time rather than waiting until about 1/4 left, we have doubled the demand and lines at all the stations. Stop worrying about the gas and if you run out, take a bike. NYC has a great network of bike lanes and now is the best time to learn your way around and use your bikes for short trips to school, market, shul and mikvah.
FYI-there are three gas stations with gas and no lines right outside the Holland Tunnel (which has now been reopened to private vehicles). This is in addition the those in Elizabeth/Linden area as mentioned by another poster.
The intial problem was lack of power at the gas stations. That is no longer a problem. Ths issue appears to be inability to deliver not lack of product but why is that an issue? Are there not enough trucks available? enough drivers? Either of those 2 matters are dealt with by having the National Guard mobilized with their fleet of tankers to deliver If there arent enough tankers let the state rent them. People waiting on line for 4 plus hours in the middle of the night is unaccepatble but can be remedied if the political eatablishment were as hurting as the memebrs of the public. Instead of the press conferences let them spend their time securing a solution which shouldnt be that difficult..
Give it up Greenie!! Its your party that has gotten in the way and continues to get in the way of progress. Imagine not having ridiculous restrictions in place on gas formulations. There are HUNDREDS of formulas for the 57+ states! You reap what you sow.
You also have YOUR party that is thrilled there are gas problems so that their fake global warming hoax can be fed.
Enjoy it. Feel free to go to NJ where there’s odd/even in place. Perhaps you should drive up to harriman or Newbergh where you could get gas without waiting!
David Next time to you to Jersey to gas up, can I give you a couple of gas cans to fill for me?
I don’t get it. 99% of frum Jews voted Republican yesterday, so why aren’t they demanding a genuine, economically conservative, market-based idea: allow price gouging. Obviously what we’re witnessing now is a basic absence of equilibrium between supply and demand. So let’s correct that by allowing prices to rise until demand and supply match.
If that sounds unfair, it isn’t: right now we’re just rewarding the first to the pump, which makes no more sense than rewarding those willing to pay more. And if there’s a concern that the poorest can’t afford higher gas prices, then let the government reimburse them after the fact. That makes more sense than forbidding market-clearing prices at the outset.
I voted Obama, for crying out loud; why am I not hearing this idea from the Romneyites? (Answer: because they didn’t hear it on Fox News.)
mark levin
“57 + states”
If you are referring to the USA tehn tehre are 50 states. Lay off the bottle.
then there*
Did anyone notice the name of poster #3 who is so enthralled by “one politician”?
May Hashem bless Greenfield!!! But what took so long???And where are all our other representatives. This is not even an issue in the news. Yesterday, I attributed it to elections being the biggie, but not a word, and still nothing today. There is something sinister about it.
We should definitely be way past this problem by now. HELP!! I feel locked in, as I’m sure many others do as well.
Our safety, sanity, well-being,and economy need the gas situation rectified, YESTERDAY!!! And we should be demanding answers.
Thank you David. Please kep up the pressure untill we see results.
At work, I recently had to ship some things urgently in NY/NJ using UPS. Turns out a 4-hour SLA became 72 hours, because UPS couldn’t get enough fuel! The customer was red-hot mad.
This situation is damaging the economy…
No Wait for Gas in Monroe
This is why I like Greenfield. He is a man of the people and he gets it. I follow him on tiwtter @NYCGreenfield and got all his updates and saw how he is trying to live with the problem just like us.
If Bloomberg had to fill up in Jersey like me, you and Greenfield he would have solved this problem already.
THANK YOU DAVID FOR BEING THERE FOR US!
WIY – google “Obama 57 states”
Ok let’s stop the Greenfield bashing. He’s doing his job. He’s very directly trying to convince the higher ups(as Mark Levine pointed out)to remove the cleaner gas formulation restrictions that are in effect for NYC at any other time. David Greenfield’s job is to report to these same politicians when something effects the people of his district. Now, (informed-in- flatbush) is right by saying that the production of this- let’s call it cleaner gasoline (higher ethenol content,more detergents) isn’t the first priority on the refineries list. They ARE making gasoline, just not the NYC recipe. That’s why there aren’t any lines in Jersey (it’s not the even/odd restriction). What Greenfield is asking for is a waiver of this requirement without publicly blowing up why our gas is always about 30 cents more expensive then Jersey. Basically we’re dealing with mass panic and real supply shortages mixed in with media driven hysteria. Cuomo and Bloomberg could end this overnight.
How much gas was going to be used for the marathon ancillary staff & media? There’s enough coming out of Mad Mayor Mike’s mouth, that’s for sure.
Dan Daoust:
You didn’t have to tell us you voted for Obama, we figured it out from your shallow comment.
You want to know why if 99% of frum Jews voted republican, we should allow price gouging.
The answer is simple. Because the conservative answer is NOT price gouging. The conservative answer is STOP PUTTING RESTRICTIONS ON THE FUEL INDUSTRY. It’s the democrats who are backwards. First the put restrictions on the fuel industry, then they want to know why there is a shortage, then they want to regulate the pricing. There is no problem with supply, there is plenty of supply. Its the democrats re limiting the supply causing the demand to go up causing the prices to rise.
Yes, keep watching and all those liberal media outlets and you will remain uneducated. Maybe change you source of information and you will see how foolish the liberal agenda is.
Good luck with the backwards liberal ideology! remain in your bubble.
Politics aside.
The market forces of supply and demand are in fact in play. Where gas is readily available, prices are down 40 cents or more a gallon due to a glut in inventory. Despite said glut in inventory, where it is not readily available one has not seen the 40 cent decline, and in fact small increases have been noted. This is not a question of economics, it is a question of logistics. If by all accounts there is a glut of inventory, why is it not making its way to stations around NYC? It is a legitimate question to ask a full week after the storm.
“I don’t get it. 99% of frum Jews voted Republican yesterday,”
While people won’t admit it, I’m willing to bet that this number is closer to 50%.
Dan Daoust
It would lead to social unrest which is a heavier toll on the economy than social discomfort due to lines.