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Thousands of people lined up to receive 11,000 gallons of free "Obama Gas," being distributed by the military at the Bedford Avenue Armory in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Thousands of others were lined up a block away for gas at a BP Gas Station on Novermber 3, 2012.
The frenzy for gas, fueled by long lines and shuttered stations, reached a fever pitch Saturday even as a massive tanker full of relief sailed into the harbor.
The interminable delay stretched to 16 hours at one Bay Ridge gas station, where would-be customers sat helplessly. Not even the promise of $10 in free FEMA gas calmed tensions in one tense 12-block queue along Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn, where tempers flared as desperate drivers tried to jump to the front.
“People have been cutting the line like crazy, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” said Adam Brahimaj, 24, after sitting in his car for three hours. He started the day by bicycling to seven shuttered stations with a gas can in tow before the free fuel arrived.
The interminable delay stretched to 16 hours at one Bay Ridge gas station, where would-be customers sat helplessly. Not even the promise of $10 in free FEMA gas calmed tensions in one tense 12-block queue along Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn, where tempers flared as desperate drivers tried to jump to the front.
“People have been cutting the line like crazy, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” said Adam Brahimaj, 24, after sitting in his car for three hours. He started the day by bicycling to seven shuttered stations with a gas can in tow before the free fuel arrived.
The trouble-plagued giveaway began when Gov. Cuomo’s office announced in the morning that officials would try to ease the post-Sandy gas crisis by giving out free fuel to both “emergency vehicles and the general public.
But by the afternoon Cuomo spokeman Matt Wing rolled back the offer of free gas, announcing that fuel was intended for emergency vehicles first and foremost.
The change came after the US Department of Defense — which provided the gas in coordination with the National Guard — said the gas was only for first responders.
A Cuomo-administration source blamed the mix up on the military.
“They told us. We simply conveyed the information provided by them,” the source said. “We had nothing to do with the execution. We didn’t select the sites. It wasn’t our trucks. It wasn’t our people. It’s not our fault.”
But by the afternoon Cuomo spokeman Matt Wing rolled back the offer of free gas, announcing that fuel was intended for emergency vehicles first and foremost.
The change came after the US Department of Defense — which provided the gas in coordination with the National Guard — said the gas was only for first responders.
A Cuomo-administration source blamed the mix up on the military.
“They told us. We simply conveyed the information provided by them,” the source said. “We had nothing to do with the execution. We didn’t select the sites. It wasn’t our trucks. It wasn’t our people. It’s not our fault.”
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