Gas Prices Break $5 a Gallon in Queens, Slamming Drivers

Gas prices on May 19, 2022 at BP, located 31-05 Queens Blvd. (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

May 19, 2022 By Michael Dorgan

The average price for a gallon of regular gas broke the $5 mark in Queens today—for the first time ever.

The pain at the pump for Queens drivers was evident this morning at the BP station on Queens Boulevard in Long Island City where it was $5.03 for a gallon of regular gas.

“It’s a lot of money. It costs me $70 to fill my tank and I use regular,” said Chris Paredes, who lives in Brooklyn. “It hurts but what can I do, it’s getting hard out here.”

The average price for regular gas in New York City is now $5.02 a gallon—an all-time high–according to AAA. The average in Queens is $5.02 a gallon, Staten Island $4.99, the Bronx $4.98, Brooklyn $5.01 and Manhattan $5.35.

The cost of premium and diesel is even more brutal across New York City, with the average for premium being $5.56 a gallon and $6.77 for diesel.

Prices in New York City (source: AAA)

Gas prices for a gallon of regular surpassed $4 in every state for the first time Tuesday, according to AAA. The price of a gallon of regular averaged $4.91 across New York State today, higher than the national average of $4.59.

But analysts are saying that the average prices across the nation could surpass $6 per gallon.

“With expectations of strong driving demand … U.S. retail prices could surge by August to a $6.20/gal national average,” wrote Natasha Kaneva, head of commodities research at JPMorgan, in a report released to investors Tuesday.

For drivers in Queens this does not bode well—particularly for Uber drivers.

Michael Heralall, an Uber driver who lives in South Richmond Hill, said the surge in gas prices is making it tough for him to make a living.

“It makes me feel like I don’t want to go to work,” Heralall said at the BP station in Long Island City this morning. “It’s very, very expensive—before I used to pay $2.69, now I pay more than $5 — it’s a lot of money.”

“I’m filling up gas and I haven’t got a ride yet,” said Heralall, who regularly transports passengers to and from J.F.K. Airport.

The price of crude oil is about $110 a barrel, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cut in U.S. production among the contributors to the spike.

“The high cost of oil, the key ingredient in gasoline, is driving these high pump prices,” said a AAA spokesperson on Monday.

Oner Dikmen, an Uber SUV driver, who drove into the BP station this morning said: “It’s killing us…. I’m spending $110-$120 to fill my car and before it was $75.”

“I’m spending $160 more a week so that means I have to work at least two or three hours more per day, which means I’m going to have to sacrifice the time I have at home.”

“That’s $500 a month so that’s not easy money to make, its making it hard to survive.”

Dikmen said he has switched from super unleaded to regular to tackle the price hike.

“The quality of the gas is going to affect the long-term maintenance of the car, engine transmission, everything.’

“I have to take [that risk] because I have to make money.”