45°
Mayor Mike Spano said he plans to sign an executive order Thursday limiting motorists to 10 gallons of gas per visit.
“The hope is that will slow the push and keep the gas supply in place,” Spano said at an afternoon press briefing in the Office of Emergency Management.
Throughout the city, gas has been at a premium, with a number of stations shut down either because of depleted fuel supplies or a lack of power in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
More than 10 stations had to close Thursday after they ran out of fuel, Spano said.
Those that remained open were dealing with lines that stretched around the block, as well as many short-tempered motorists.
City officials said there was even a fistfight between drivers at a Getty station on Nepperhan Avenue earlier in the day. Spano said Yonkers has now deployed police personnel to handle the long lines.
Many of the drivers fueling up in Yonkers were coming from places like New York City, where gas was even harder to come by, the mayor said.
“The bottom line is we have seen a huge influx of people coming to Yonkers,” he said. “We decided to jump ahead of it. We can lift the ration, but for now we are going to ration gasoline at 10 gallons per customer.”
Shawna Baker was one of those out-of-towners filling up at a Yonkers pump early Thursday. She said she had visited six closed stations in the Bronx before coming to the Mobil on Yonkers Avenue.
“I didn’t realize it was this bad,” she said. “I was in for a rude awakening.”
Spano said he was unsure how long the ration would be in place or when the gas problem in Yonkers would be fixed.
“I always try to be optimistic, but we have to be prepared for the worst and that’s why we’re doing this ration,” he said.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Yonkers and receive free news updates.
