State Charges Lindenhurst Gas Station with Price Gouging

A Lindenhurst gas station is one of the 13 stations facing “enforcement proceedings” under New York’s Price Gouging statute, the New York State Attorney General said on Thursday.

Babylon Gas Station/Express Mart on Route 109 was the target of a consumer complaint claiming the station charged $4.99 per gallon of gas, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.

According to Schneiderman, a consumer has reported that at the Express Mart station there were no road signs indicating the gas prices, only a plywood sign next to the road stating they were only accepting cash for gasoline purchases.

In addition, he said, there was a long line at the gas station. When the consumer pulled up to the pump, the attorney general said, he was told the gas price was $4.99 a gallon.

The comsumer paid the $4.99 because he needed the gas, Schneiderman said.

Eugene Schwartz, manager of the Express Mart, denied the allegations on Thursday night in an article on Newsday.com.

"If [Schneiderman] can prove it, I will give him a free tank of gas. It's impossible because the computer sets the gas price....This is not true," Schwartz told Newsday.

"Today's action is the first in a series of steps my office will take as we continue to actively investigate the hundreds of complaints we've received from consumers of businesses preying on victims of Hurricane Sandy,” he said.

“We will do everything we can to stop unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage of New Yorkers trying to rebuild their lives," the NYS attorney general added.

According to Schneiderman, the 13 gas stations identified are the first of what is expected to be a series of actions taken in a wide-ranging investigation launched in the wake of Hurricane Sandy for price gouging.

New York’s Price Gouging Law prohibits merchants from taking unfair advantage of consumers by selling goods or services for an "unconscionably excessive price" during an "abnormal disruption of the market."

The price gouging law covers State vendors, retailers and suppliers, including, but not limited to, supermarkets, gas stations, hardware stores, bodegas, delis, and taxi and livery cab drivers.

For the complete list of gas stations the attorney general named and to read more, click here. To read the full report on Newsday.com, click here.

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