Cars follow gas delivery trucks

For residents of Port Jefferson Station, all but two gas stations have remained closed since the aftermath of Sandy. Residents have been left with finding stations in neighboring towns, a gamble that has forced some people to use what little gas they have left in hopes of filling up.

All along Nesconset Highway, gas stations remain surrounded by caution tape and gas price signs blank. The Shell station on the corner of Nesconset Highway and Old Town Road in Port Jefferson Station has been without gas since the Sunday night before Hurricane Sandy struck.

“The day before yesterday, the owner told us that we’re getting gas soon,” said Syed Raza, 25, of Port Jefferson, who was waiting in a small room at the station with nothing to do but wait. “They keep telling us soon but the owner has 250 stations and since dealers get the gas first who knows how long we will have to wait.”

Further down the road on the corner of Nesconset Highway and Terryville Road is a Sunoco station that has also been waiting for gas since last Friday. Employee Ed Bauzon, 60, of Port Jefferson, said there is no estimate as to when the next shipment will come in.

The next light down, on the corner of Jayne Boulevard and Nesconset Highway, a BP station has been getting deliveries every other day but has struggled to keep the supply. On Monday around 7 p.m., the station received a large shipment. But the delivery truck was being followed by at least a dozen cars and before the truck was finished unloading, a line of more than 100 cars was already stretching down Jayne Boulevard, onto Route 112 and down Terryville Road. By 4 a.m. Tuesday morning, the station was out again.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Anthony Russo, 18, of Setauket, an attendant at the BP. Russo had been working since 3 a.m.ing when today’s shipment came in.

“I think we’ll last another hour or so until we run out again,” Russo said at 1 p.m. “And then it’s back to waiting.”