Gas Lines Drop Heavily

A week ago, the gas line at the Deer Park Express station on the corner of Deer Park and Long Island avenues snaked the distance of Lake Avenue, beyond the library and back to Carll's Path.

Motorists waited hours, worried that without fuel, they would miss work or be unable to heat their homes, which ran on generators in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

The temperature plummeted, a Nor'easter blew in and residents were desparate to stay warm.

But four days after the snowstorm, gas lines at North Babylon and Deer Park gas stations are nearly nonexistent.

On Saturday, the BP on Deer Park Avenue in North Babylon had little wait, and the Citgo on the corner of Carll's Path and Long Island Avenue in Deer Park had no wait at all. Other gas stations had short waits of no more than 10 minutes.

Some credited gas rationing, while others thought it probably had to do with an ease in panic - many were filling up even if they didn't need to, because there was such supply concerns.

Kevin Beyer, president of the Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association, told Newsday that the long lines were pretty much a thing of the past.

"It will pretty much be alleviated by this week," he said.

Still, some gas stations in the area are closed, and supplies have yet to return to normal.

But the long lines have dissipated.