Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that the gas rationing system implemented in the city two weeks ago will come to an end on Saturday. He introduced the gas rationing for city drivers for the first time since the 1970s on November 9 after Hurricane Sandy crippled the area’s fuel supply network. It resulted to low supply in the city. Lines were hours long at stations in the city. Gas stations were closed as people left without power and need fuel for generators.
New York City’s plan was implemented the same day that a gas rationing plan began on Long Island. New Jersey was the first to place rationing in several counties, which lasted for 10 days. Officials from Nassau and Suffolk Counties in Long Island announced the end of gas rationing last Friday.
Lines at the stations started to disappear in New York as more gas stations start to operate once again. They also begin getting a steady supply of fuel. Mayor Bloomberg wanted to extend the gas rationing system through the Thanksgiving period, which is considered the heaviest travel days of the year.
The mayor said that the odd-even license plate system significantly decreased the lines in gas stations. It also eased disruptions and anxiety for drivers at station across the five boroughs. He added that more than 85 percent of gas stations are operational, which is an increase from 25 percent two weeks ago. He said that now that Black Friday and Thanksgiving has passed, the odd-even plate gas rationing system will end on Saturday.
During Thanksgiving, Mayor Bloomberg’s office distributed thousands of Thanksgiving meals at 30 sites in the area devastated by Sandy. Since the storm recovery operation, the city as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency has distributed more than 2.7 million meals, 170,856 blankets, and 704,260 bottles of water.
