Huntington stands alone on Long Island in banning self-service gas. Here's why.

Long Islanders might notice a peculiarity in the Town of Huntington as they look to fuel up: They're not allowed to do it themselves.

The town is one of a few places left in the country where a ban on self-service gas dispensing still exists. And that fuels a couple of questions: Why, and will it ever change here?

Self-service gas stations have been prohibited in the town since at least the 1970s, according to town officials. It happened because local officials at the time were concerned about consumers skimming gas from pumps. Later, in the 1980s, the fire marshal added his own concerns about safety, town officials said, and the ban has remained untouched. 

Since then, "So much has changed in technology and in fire safety," said Kevin Beyer, vice president of government affairs for the Long Island Gas Retailers Association, citing fire suppression systems, automatic shutoffs, and the way gas stations are constructed. But the continuing ban makes Huntington the only town on Long Island — and one of the few places outside New Jersey and parts of Oregon — where pumping gas is for attendants only.

There have been challenges to the prohibition throughout the years.

In the 1990s, gas station owners asked that it be removed from town code, citing safety worries of their own: One attendant was killed and another injured during separate overnight robbery attempts, as Newsday previously reported. But that request was denied, overridden by local officials' worries about fire safety, including spills and customers mishandling fuel nozzles.

The town last revisited the idea to lift the ban in 2007 and 2019, but both times it stalled, lacking support. 

As for now, Chief Fire Marshal Paul Latuso said, the town has no plan to change the prohibition. Latuso said it’s a service to customers, especially those who are unable to pump their own gas or simply don’t want to.

But, he said, if the issue of lifting the ban resurfaces, his office would take a closer look. 

Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said the town hasn't had any requests to change town code to allow self-service gas stations in a few years. “If we’re asked, it would be something we would look into,” he said.

Motorists like the perk

Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager for public affairs at AAA Northeast in Garden City, said in an email that the self-serve prohibition in New Jersey dates back to the Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act, which was passed in 1949. Safety concerns were listed as a reason for that ban, he said.

But a lot has changed in 76 years.

“The equipment that is being used today has been designed to make it as safe as possible to fill a car with fuel,” Latuso said.

"There can be potential safety issues, but across the nation self-serve stations pump millions of gallons daily with no problems," Sinclair said.

A recent informal poll at a Mobil gas station/convenience store in Huntington Town revealed that most motorists like the perk of not having to fill their own tank.

They said that with more businesses such as grocery stores and drugstores moving toward self-serve, it’s nice to get some traditional service from a business that also keeps people employed.

Marc Newman, of Centerport, said he likes the full-service option. “It’s convenient to not have to do it for yourself, and I’m sure it’s for safety purposes, which makes sense,” he said.

Maude Martocci, of Greenlawn, said she doesn’t like getting out of her car to pump gas and doesn’t want to have to worry about spilling it on herself. “It also gives somebody a job that wouldn’t have a job,” she said.

She said that generally, she intentionally fills up in Huntington because it’s full-serve.

But the owner of that Mobil station and store, on Jericho Turnpike in Commack, said he wishes local officials would reconsider and allow some self-service to help businesses.

Channi Singh owns 30 gas stations on Long Island and in New York City. He said the full-service-only requirement offers challenges for business owners: high payroll, because there must be enough staff to cover multiple shifts; and with a store, even more staff are needed to cover both inside and outside. He said finding people to work is a problem.

“I know there’s a cost of doing business, but these extra expenses, high rent, it hurts the station owner when there are ways to help,” said Singh, who has owned the location for about four months, his only one in Huntington.

He said full-service discourages customers from patronizing stores at stations because they don’t get out of their cars, which he said hurts business owners' bottom line.

“It should be up to the gas station owner if they want to offer self-service,” he said. “If a gas station complies with all the rules and regulations, the fire department; has a fire suppression system, a canopy, it should be allowed to have self-service.”

Convenience vs. savings

Self-serve gasoline does provide potential price savings that drivers could benefit from, Sinclair said. 

Beyer, from the gas retailers association, said gas station owners are able to reduce some labor costs by allowing the option.

“So maybe they can stay open a little later or open a little earlier,” he said. "Now they can take that money and allocate it in different ways.”

Many of the customers interviewed at Singh's Mobil station, including Newman, said that if a change to include self-serve translated to cheaper gas prices, they'd choose that option. 

Robert Cella, of Northport, said he lives half the year in Florida, where he pumps his own gas. He likes the convenience of full-serve, but “If the price is cheaper to pump it yourself, I would pump my own,” he said.

But prices at gas stations vary for a number of reasons and are not necessarily based on whether they are full-serve or self-serve.

“The cost is still based on competitiveness," Beyer said. "How many competitors are in the area; brand.”

For example, on a Friday earlier this summer at Singh’s Commack station, with 18 pumping stations and no self-serve gas, the cash price per gallon was $2.91 for regular.

At a Mobil Station in Syosset, with 10 bays, all of them self-serve, the cash price for regular was $2.95, slightly higher than at Singh's station. 

Martocci, who likes to fill up in Huntington, doesn’t think she is paying more to do so there than most stations she sees in Nassau County. “I’ve seen prices over $3 and it has nothing to do with someone pumping your gas,” she said.

Craig Oehme, of Commack, said he is a regular customer at the Mobil station owned by Singh and likes the way things are, with station attendants doing the work.

“I’ve seen people drive away with the hose in the car,” he said. “It doesn’t cost the consumer any more and it keeps the attendants working.”

With or without a ban, an attendant has to be on-site while a customer is fueling a vehicle, according to Huntington Town fire code, Latuso, the chief fire marshal, said.

As for tipping? It's welcome but appears to be a rarity, according to Singh. At his full-service stations, tipping can depend on a customer's method of payment.

“Because people use the credit card 90% of the time, they don’t tip,” he said. “They only tip when they use cash, but now, day by day, there are more credit card sales, and cash is used less and less.”

Manoj Hans, of Huntington, who has worked at the Commack station since 1997, said he hopes the full-service-only law remains. He works part time there, both inside the store and outside pumping gas. The flexible hours allow him to supplement his job at a hospital on the janitorial staff.

“Self-service is not good,” he said. “People smoke cigarettes, they pull away from the pump. Full-service is safer for everyone.”

Linda Schulz, of Commack, feels differently. She said she has been pumping her own gas for years. “I think it’s ridiculous that you can’t pump your own gas,” she said.

But her husband, Charles, said Huntington's ban is a convenience for those who don’t know how to pump gas properly, and it addresses safety concerns.

However, he also understands the other side.

“There is a benefit of pumping your own gas to get in and out and get going on the road,” he said.