4 FEBRUARY 24, 2022 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
‘Tough for everyone’
Queens residents, gas station owners struggling to keep up with rising prices
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Queens residents have been
feeling the effects of inflation
— rising prices and a loss
of purchasing power — all without
wages matching the increase in the
cost of living.
The price of gas alone has gone
up about one dollar this year. Gas
station owners are scared, drivers
are budgeting and no one knows
who to blame.
Tasos Drivas opened a Mobil gas
station in Long Island City nearly
30 years ago, and he told QNS he
worries every day about losing his
business.
“What will I do if I lose this business?”
Drivas said. “I already lost
two-thirds of the business I had,
and at my age now, it’s not the time
to start again. The businesses have
been struggling after the government
stopped giving out checks.
Now, over 90% of people use credit
Swaran Singh, a cashier at the Mobil station in Long Island City.
Photo by Julia Moro
cards at my station. It’s a problem.
It’s very tough for everyone.”
According to AAA, the national
average for a gallon of gas is $3.44,
over one dollar more than it was a
year ago. There are a lot of different
factors to blame for this surge
in prices. First, AAA says that cold
weather increases the demand for
heating oil. On top of that, foreign
affairs and the concern that Russia
will sanction and withhold crude
oil in the already tight market puts
pressure on prices.
“This shows how events on the
other side of the globe can have a
noticeable impact right here in the
U.S.,” said Andrew Gross, an AAA
spokesperson. “And unfortunately
for drivers, they are reminded of
this by higher prices at the pump.”
Drivas said that he sees fewer
and fewer people come around to
purchase gas at his station.
Sometimes, customers only fill up
a few dollars’ worth of gas at a time
when they can afford to do so. On
top of this, he noticed many Uber
and Lyft drivers coming through
his station, many of whom pay for
their gas but complain that their
wages do not cover the rising
costs.
“Whatever you touch is more
expensive,” Drivas said. “The prices
go up everywhere. I’m worried;
everyone’s worried.”
Anthony, a Lyft driver, said that
he applied to work for Uber since
he heard they would pay 25 cents
on the dollar for gas. “It’s very little,”
Anthony said, “but every bit counts.”
“The gas every day is different;
I pay more for gas every day,” Anthony
said. “Working in the city,
you use the most gas. The more you
work, the more you pay.”
But it’s not just gas prices that
have dramatically increased — food,
clothing and other items have also
seen prices rise over the past few
months.
Anthony said he and his wife
struggle to keep up. A trip to the
grocery store, which once cost
around $100, has doubled.
“My wife told me this morning,
our grocery bill went up to $200,
just for food,” Anthony said.
With inflation soaring over the
past year and reaching its highest
rates in four decades, it is hard to
predict an end to the rise in prices.
The Labor Department released a
statement earlier this month saying
consumer prices jumped 7.5% last
month compared to the previous
year, the steepest increase since
February 1982.
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