(Photo: Getty)

As several gas station owners are about to learn, it's against New York State law to jack up the price of goods like fuel after a hurricane. To wit, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced he is bringing his “first series of enforcement actions" against price gougers in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

"Today's action is the first in a series of steps my office will take as we continue to actively investigate the hundreds of complaints we've received from consumers of businesses preying on victims of Hurricane Sandy," the attorney general said in a statement. "We will do everything we can to stop unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage of New Yorkers trying to rebuild their lives."

Although the law doesn't specifically cite an illegal price for gasoline, it does prohibit an “unconscionably excessive price" during an "abnormal disruption of the market," according to Mr. Schneiderman's office. In addition to "war" and "military action," the law names “weather events" as a triggering event that would restrict such sharp price increases. A fatal storm that left much of the city without gas would certainly seem to qualify.

Mr. Schneiderman said thirteen retailers in particular "stand out from others in the high prices they have charged and in the size of their price increases," which can be viewed below, along with the alleged illegal prices:

Nassau County
Shell
3709 Crompond Road
Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567
Consumer compliant $5.00

Shell
408 Rockaway Turnpike
Cedarhurst, NY 11516
Consumer complaint 5.00+

Suffolk County
Babylon Gas Station/Express Mart
1000 Route 109
Lindenhurst, NY 11757
Consumer complaint $4.99

USA Petroleum
East Islip, NY
11730, NY
Consumer complaint $5.50+

USA Petroleum
2664 Route 112
Medford, NY 11763
Consumer complaint 5.50+

Westchester County
Mobil
174 Westchester Avenue
White Plains, NY
Consumer complaint $5.05

Mobil
Hutchinson River Parkway
White Plains, NY
Consumer complaint $5.03

Brooklyn
Sonomax
278 Greenpoint Ave
Brooklyn, NY
Consumer complaint $4.74

Queens
Mobil
4040 Crescent St
Long Island City ,NY
Consumer complaint $4.89

Shell
Northern Heights Service
7018 Northern Blvd
Jackson Heights, NY
Consumer complaint $5.50

Delta
1309 14th Avenue
College Point, NY
Consumer compliant $5.00

Bronx
Getty
600 Pelham Parkway
Bronx, NY
Consumer complaint $5.39

Mobil
688 E. Gun Hill Road
Bronx, NY
Consumer complaint $4.89

An NYPD car guards a gas station. (Photo: Getty)

New Jersey will end its system of rationing gas tomorrow, but New York City will continue policing fuel consumption for the time being.

"We'll see," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a press conference earlier today. “It's hard to measure, but it looks like there are a handful more gas stations open than there were yesterday and the day before. And anecdotal evidence is that lines are shorter, and hopefully that's true."

The rationing system, which restricts gasoline depending on whether a driver's last licence plate number is odd or even, is based on the one New Jersey had implemented. Mr. Bloomberg said his administration would observe the situation across the Hudson River to help inform when they will again follow the Garden State's lead.

"For the moment, we're going to leave these in," he said. "It will be interesting to see what happens in New Jersey. We can never get good numbers anyway, so it's all going to be anecdotal. I see no harm in leaving it in for a while. If we could have taken it out, it's not that much of an inconvenience; people have gotten used to it already.

A Brooklyn gas station on Wednesday. (Photo: Getty)

Yesterday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced new regulations to ration gasoline in New York City. Based on the last digit of their licence plate number, drivers will be able to fill up their tanks exclusively on odd or even numbered days, starting at 6 a.m. this morning. And, on his weekly radio interview with John Gambling today, Mr. Bloomberg made it clear that there wouldn't be a lot of options to get around the policy.

"What we have done is put a police officer at every gas station that's open, and are committed to doing that to any gas station that is not open but will open, to make sure that there's security and that people don't get pushy in the line and that sort of thing," he said. "But hopefully this will help. The real answer, all the experts believe, is just with time."

At the start of the month, Mr. Bloomberg told the city the gasoline shortage would take "some time" to be resolved after Hurricane Sandy shut down much of the area's infrastructure, but the mayor had initially expressed a timetable of days, not weeks, for the gas supply to remain normal. At yesterday's press conference, the mayor admitted getting through the gas shortage will take longer than he expected. As to the cause of so many gas stations remaining shuttered, the mayor had a myriad of explanations.

"Originally it was that they didn't have electricity, although that problem has basically been solved. Also a  theory was that there just was no gas available, so that they couldn't—although you would think they have some gas in their tanks underground," Mr. Bloomberg said. "Some of these people had other things to do, maybe, who knows? We're trying to get a better handle on that. But regardless of why somebody's not opening it, they're not open. We've got to make sure there's more gas. Presumably, if they have gas and they have electricity, they're in the business in selling, so they will open."

New Yorkers wait for gas in Lower Manhattan. (Photo: Getty)

This afternoon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced New York's post-storm fuel shortage is worse than initially expected and may last for weeks. Because of this, the mayor announced a new plan to ration gasoline--effective 6 a.m. tomorrow morning.

“Last week’s storm hit the fuel network hard–and knocked out critical infrastructure needed to distribute gasoline,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. “Even as the region’s petroleum infrastructure slowly returns to normal, the gasoline supply remains a real problem for thousands of New York drivers. Earlier today, I signed an emergency order to alternate the days that drivers can purchase gas, which is the best way to cut down the lines and help customers buy gas faster.”

Here are the new rules:

• Vehicles with license plates ending in an even number or the number “0” can make purchases of motor fuel on even numbered days.
• Vehicles with license plates ending in an odd number can make purchases of motor fuel on odd numbered days.
• Vehicles with licenses plates ending in a letter or other character can make purchases on odd numbered days.
• Commercial vehicles, emergency vehicles, buses and paratransit vehicles, Medical Doctor (MD) plates and vehicles licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission are exempt.

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At a brief press conference explaining the new restrictions, Mr. Bloomberg noted New Jersey has already implemented a similar plan, and Suffolk and Nassau counties in Long Island are expected to follow suit.

(Photo: Getty)

A gasoline shortage is currently hitting the New York City metropolitan area, with many gas stations empty or shuttered due to Hurricane Sandy's damage, and the remaining locations are plagued by never-ending lines. Asked about the situation today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg acknowledged the problem and said there is only so much the city can do about it.

"You've got to open the harbor, that's one of the things," he said to describe the issue. "There are some federal laws prohibiting foreign-flagged ships from doing certain things, we've got waivers already; the federal government couldn't be more helpful. It will take some time. Some of the gas stations aren't open because they don't have electricity and the pumps need electricity to run. That, in the next couple days, will hopefully be accommodated. Once mass transit comes back, you have a lot fewer cars trying to buy gasoline."

Mr. Bloomberg said it might be tough in the meantime, but the city's gas stations will generally be at normal capacity by next week.

"So it's one of these problems we're just going to have to live through," he explained. "I think by Monday most of it will have gone away."

The mayor's statement was little comfort to Councilman David Greenfield, who urged the creation of an "#NYCgas" Twitter hashtag in response, intended so the public can quickly share the location of working gas stations.