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High gas prices pain LIers

BY JOHN VALENTI | john.valenti@newsday.com

8:55 PM EDT, May 1, 2008

He drives a black Chevrolet Suburban 1500 with 24-inch custom chrome rims, low-profile tires -- and a double gas tank.

The last time Chad Gamble, 24, of Patchogue, filled up his gigantic SUV it cost him $85, he said. And that was before gas prices hit all-time highs this week.

Which is why, Gamble said, that within the next week he plans to put his beloved Suburban up for sale and is thinking about purchasing a smaller car.

"It's got to cost more than $100 to fill it now," Gamble said Wednesday as he bought $7 worth of gas at the USA station on West Main Street and Waverly Avenue in Patchogue. "It costs me $30 just to move the thing half the time. I can't do it. I've had it two years, but I have to get rid of it."

The price for a gallon of regular gasoline at the USA station was selling for $3.799 on Wednesday. The plus-grade was $3.999, super $4.099.

A gallon of diesel was an astonishing $4.799.

And, station co-owner Sukhinder Bandesha said, the prices will keep going up. Soon.

"It's very, very hard," said Bandesha, 46, of Bayport. "But, I have no choice."

Gas prices have increased by leaps and bounds in recent months -- and have gone through the roof in the past year alone. Each day, it seems, brings a record high.

As of Thursday, the average price for a gallon of regular on Long Island was $3.845, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. That compared with $3.115 per gallon one year ago. Mid-grade gas is averaging $4.114 per gallon, premium $4.202 per gallon and diesel $4.657 per gallon in Nassau and Suffolk, according to AAA.

At the USA station, the rising prices have led to a downturn in business, dwindling profit margins -- and conflicts with customers.

Within the past week, Bandesha said, the price of the candy bars he sells at his station's food mart increased 13 percent. And the price of pound cake rose from $1.19 to $1.29. It's because the truckers are paying more for fuel, he said.

The increased delivery costs are being passed on.

"People complain, 'Why the gas is up?' " Bandesha said. "I say 'I don't know why the gas is up. It just costs more.'"

Last week, a woman came in and asked for $20 worth of regular, Bandesha said. Then, she got into an argument with the attendant, claiming he was cheating her.

"She said, 'My [fuel gauge] needle does not go up. Your worker is not putting the gas in. ... He's cheating me.'"

But $20 equaled 5.27 gallons of gas, Bandesha said.

"I told her, 'No, he put the gas in. It's just not much.'"