Thiele fights gasoline zone pricing
Just before the Memorial Holiday weekend, Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor) was lambasting South Fork service stations for having the highest gasoline prices of any on Long Island.But post-Memorial Day, he reported that South Fork prices had dropped and were the lowest on Long Island.
Prices had spiked 30 cents, from $2.49 a gallon in January to $2.79 in April and jumped $2.85 a gallon in May. Memorial Day weekend prices were about 8 cents less than those on the rest of the Island for the first time in three years, the legislator said. South Fork prices are lower than the state average by one cent, he said.
While the Automobile Association of America provides a regional survey of prices, Mr. Thiele’s was the only survey on the South Fork.
The lowest prices he found at $2.81 per gallon were along Routes 27 and 39 with the lowest at Speedway stations that have replaced most of the Hess stations across the South Fork.
Mr. Thiele called on the state legislature to pass a bill prohibiting zone pricing.
The result would be to enact recommendations made by State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman outlawing the practice of zone pricing.
While the legislation has been supported by local gasoline retailers, Mr. Thiele said it has been opposed by major oil companies.
