Short Tempers, Long Lines at Pelham Stations

Still without electricity three days after Hurricane, some gas stations have not been able to re-open their pumps while others have exhausted their inventories. That means long lines and short tempers at the last ones standing.

In Pelham, cars lined up for blocks to enter the Lincoln Ave. Sunoco station; nearby Mobil didn't even bother opening. The service bays were open at Citgo, Getty and Gulf station on Fifth Ave., but there was no gas. Lines were also epic at Boston Post Road stations in Pelham Manor and E. Sandford Ave in Mount Vernon.

Police have had to keep order on more than one occasion when people got heated over their empty gas tanks.

This morning, a female motorist at the Gulf station on Boston Post Rd and West St. actually got out of her car and started knocking on other car windows when they wouldn't let her pass them and another man created his own detour by driving through the car wash to circumvent the long lines that formed. But no one left happy, the station ran out of gas and had to close. 

When the station received a delivery of gas later in the day Thursday, police had to return after reports of motorists blocking the road and "getting unruly."

Pelham Manor police contacted Westchester County Police yesterday after lines at Shell on Boston Post Rd grew so long they threatened to block the entrance to the Hutchinson River Parkway. Instead of closing the ramp or risking possible collisions, officers remained on the scene and directed traffic.