Hudson Valley, NY, Post Sandy Gas Crisis

I woke up this morning to a text message from my wife who left before me, telling me I should get gas as soon as I can. That something was going on and everyone at her job was freaking out. Now, knowing her, I didn't believe a word of it and thought it was just her worrying as normal and the women she worked with where the same. As I was driving to work myself, I passed by all the gas stations and they looked normal.

But throughout the day at work I kept hearing things from other employees and customers. Gas station lines, running out, etc. And I'm thinking crap, this is real. And it sounds bad. Everyone from New Jersey and NYC who can't get gas down there is coming up.

I leave work at 6 and I pass by literally 15 - 20 gas stations as I drive around. Every one either has a line of atleast 20 cars for each pump, hour long waits or they have signs saying they have no gas. People are backed up way in the streets, apparently forgetting how you drive in America and every road is an absolute mess. It's insanity and totally unsafe.

One of the rumors I here is that once it runs out tonight there won't be gas for several days. And I drive a big Jeep that get's about 12 mpg. So I'm pretty much out of luck. I did get a little lucky though and found a Shell station where the wait was only about thirty minutes and I fill up. But it won't last long and I'm not sure what I can do after if the shortage continues.

And it's not just this immediate area. All around for miles is the same. Every station.

Here's one of a few news links Yonkers rationgs gas, gouging reported around Hudson Valley

And some pictures I took driving around.



Out of gas




That picture doesn't show it but there were lines 10 cars long on each entrance.




And that one I past at 7pm and it was lines down the street blocking traffic, and when I past it again at 10pm it wasn't any shorter.

Apparently Sandy is going to affect the region much longer than the actual storm length.

10-20 cars? What town are you in??? North/Central Jersey... i kids you not, 100+ cars at every open station, and separate lines for people on foot with gas cans!

Horrible stuff, glad i filled up before the storm and have not gone into work in NYC since the storm... not wasting 50 miles a day commuting to NY while i can do almost everything from my blackberry!

Stay safe!

I know this is nowhere near as bad as down there. It's just so widespread now. I don't think those stations who do have gas are going to have it much longer. Then what will happen?

reply to post by enjoies05


Conserve.

Most of those people don't even need gas at the moment, it is just panic reaction. Others are sitting there in line with their damn cars running as they wait to fill up. Conserve. Don't run the A/C, shut it off if you're stopped for more than 30 seconds or so. Don't accelerate hard, brake early and try not to come to complete stops.

Even your jeep is capable of a lot more MPG than you are currently getting.

Hyper-miler driving tips

Also, see if you can work from home for a couple of days. They don't need any extra cars on the road at the moment anyway, maybe your boss will use some common sense and tell you its ok to either work from home, or take a couple of days off while things settle down, and then make up the time next week when things are really hopping in the recovery phase.

I just drove from pa to ny today on 84 and the thruway.....lines at all the rest areas. Good job with the pictures, wish I thought of that.
I filled up pre storm also, thank goodness.

I wonder also if they are keeping fuel in store for all the emergency and repair vehicles. If they run out, even bigger trouble.

I also passed work trucks from all over the country making their way to NY and I assume CT. They were traveling north east.

I heard on the radio 17 cargo planes were inbound from Cali filled with work trucks. They are going to need a lot of gas in store for these recovery efforts.

reply to post by enjoies05


Plus with the power out, people have to go n, w or s to get to working stations.

Just talked my husband, he states most of the state police get their gas from public stations so that's frightening.

His old station had a pump of its own, but no longer.

Speaking of which, there's untapped gas right there. Have you passed many stations where they have gas but the power is out? Sooner or later the power will be turned on again and there will be at least some gas for awhile.
By then shouldn't the corps who own the stations be sending in tankers?

Hopefully this is some good news.

Sandy affected all six oil refineries on the East Coast. They make up about eight percent of the U.S. refining capacity. During the storm most had either shut down or were running at reduced capacity. They are now getting back up to speed, but two refineries in New Jersey have no power. It is unclear when they will be back online.

rochesterhomepage.net...

I think the ones in this area have power, they just have run out and can't receive any more. I've heard rumors that the ships can't come up the Hudson but don't know the facts.

Day 2

Just went out this morning. Seems more places are without gas than with.

I checked out TV the other morning that was nice and calm and sunny.
Then the Mr. TV announcer points out that there is nothing in the NY harbor.
It was plain empty. Nada. The sea in the wide harbor was like glass.
So he goes where are all the oil barges heading to the various spots he starts to
point out. They pan to the Bridge the Marathon runners start from Staten Island
and a big Coast Guard ship is sitting under the bridge like some sort of blockade
on Cuba. Plus how much gas facility damage was incurred to further delay the
gas supply. How about trucking some gas in but the HOV rules must have turned
back all the gas trucks. What gets me is that without gas for all the inland locations
that remained safe how will help reach those that need more help than gas.
I can only assume priority to National Guard and other rescue units are needed.

www.bizjournals.com...

I don't know anything ABOUT THE AREA OF THE EAST COAST BUT THIS ALL SEEMS SO COMPLICATED, WHAT A MESS.

OPPS CAPS

Oil barges expected Thursday.

The rough waters during the storm change the floor of the harbor and dredged channels, so they all have to be inspected and possibly re-dredged before allowing the larger boats back through. Hopefully the smaller oil tankers are beginning to trickle in again, but it might be Monday or later for the bigger ones.

I think all but 2 of the refineries along the east coast are up and running again, so that is good news. Hopefully the gas stations will begin to have supply very soon.

On a related note, I have seen some very large aircraft flying into my town here in Florida. Commercial Passenger Jets, Fed Ex Jets, and even military aircraft. I wonder if they are re-routing flights to avoid the congestion, or lack of fuel in NY/NJ? We don't typically get the 747/DC9 type aircraft here, although our airport is more than capable, but it just isn't busy enough. Today I've seen several of those aircraft, and I've seen a lot of Airline Names on the side that I've never seen before. I'm guessing that this is related to the fuel crisis on the Eastern Seaboard, but I can't confirm it.

All today I saw all closed stations, but one Sunoco had fuel and long lines. I've heard it'll be over soon though. I hope. Then the initial rush when there is a supply, followed by it going back to normal.

It's scary though how easily everything can be complicated by the lack of one thing.

I was at Target too and all their shelves of food and frozen things were empty. Scary stuff.