Public Told To Stay Away From Free Defense Dept. Fueling Stations In NYC, LI
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The public is now being told to stay away from fueling stations sent in by the Pentagon.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday announced plans to deploy temporary fuel trucks in parts of New York City and Long Island to help provide gasoline to emergency vehicles, as well as the general public.
But then later in the afternoon, a statement was sent out, saying, "The Department of Defense mobile fueling stations are currently shut down for the public so that emergency personnel and first responder vehicles can utilize them. Members of the public should not go to these fueling stations. It is also important to remember that 28 million gallons of fuel are headed to this area right now and the lines at stations across the city should dissipate soon."
The 5,000-gallon trucks have been provided by the U.S. Department of Defense at the direction of President Barack Obama, and were being deployed in coordination with the New York National Guard, according the governor's office.
An additional 150,000 gallons of fuel were also made available to restock the trucks throughout the day.
The fuel trucks were set up at the following locations:
• Queens Armory, 93-05 168th St., Jamaica, Queens;
• Bronx Armory, 10 W. 195th St., the Bronx;
• Brooklyn Armory, 1579 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn;
• Staten Island/Elizabeth Armory, 321 Manor Rd., Staten Island;
• Freeport Armory, 63 Babylon Turnpike, Freeport, Long Island.
Cars can refuel directly off the truck, Cuomo's office said. The limit is 10 gallons per vehicle.
WCBS 880's Sophia Hall: Grown Men On The Verge Of Tears
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In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, filling up the tank has been a miserable experience in the New York City area.
People waited all night in the hopes that a gas station in the Huntington, Long Island area would open up and they could fill up their cars.
"I got up 1 in the morning. I thought I was going to find something. I've been from Little Neck to Huntington and it's the same situation. The gas stations are closed and everybody's just waiting on line, hoping that they're going to get a delivery," one man told WCBS 880 reporter Sophia Hall.
Just driving, Hall reported she could really see how desperate people are. Lines were up to 100-cars-long.
Ken Bloom, a worker at JFK Airport, has been using social media sites to try to find out which stations fuel trucks are headed to.
"I need to get to work. Forget pleasure. I just want to go to work," he said. "On the way into Kennedy yesterday, I'm a grown man, I could have cried. Hundreds of people with their gas cans. Two mile lineups."
At many gas stations, including one on McGuinness Avenue in Brooklyn Friday night and another at Sherman Avenue and Isham Street in the Inwood section of Manhattan early Saturday morning, motorists snaked around multiple blocks and caused monumental traffic jams as they parked their cars and lined up for fuel.
On Friday, Cuomo acknowledged that there is a shortage of fuel, but said "there is no reason to panic."
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Damage to area ports and power outages from superstorm Sandy forced many gas stations to close and has disrupted fuel deliveries.
The Energy Department said 13 of the region's 33 fuel terminals were closed because of Sandy as well as sections of major pipelines that serve the area.
Cuomo said Friday that two of those pipelines are now back online and that damaged harbors have been partially reopened.
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