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Prices skyrocketed early in the year before taking a slight dip in the summer and climbing again after Hurricane Sandy. When prices approached $4.50 a gallon for regular gas in March, some local businesses considered raising their prices because of their steadily climbing costs.
“In order to have fresh flowers you need constant deliveries, and that means using gas,” said Frank Orts, owner of Rubrums Florist & Gifts. “We haven’t really seen the pinch yet, but if it gets higher we’re of course going to have to raise our prices. My suppliers are paying increased fuel prices on ground and air transportation, so their charges for us go up, and what other choice do we have but to pass it on?”
Several Ossining taxi cab companies also said prices were making business difficult in August, when prices again reached $4. Capricorn Taxi owner Cathy Albohn said many cabdrivers were struggling to make ends meet.
“It upsets us big time. Some days you’re working and the money you’re making goes right back into your gas tank,” Albohn said, adding that the August prices were the worst she had seen in five years. “It’s killing us, and it’s making it really hard to make a living.”
Hurricane Sandy made getting fuel even worse for Ossining residents in November. Lines of cars stretched into the street from gas stations, as drivers waited for a chance to fuel up their cars at the few stations that still had gas. Several gas stations were without fuel for weeks after the hurricane.
Prices steadied recently, and gas is once again flowing through the pumps, gas station officials said in December.
See more top stories of 2012.
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