6 The Courier sun • MAY 9, 2013 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com s sandy aftermath GASED UP AG GOES AFTER SANDY GOUGERS BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA [email protected] Long lines at the pump were not the only fuelrelated pains felt after Sandy. Rapidly increasing fuel prices further victimized storm survivors. Now the state is getting back at the gas gougers. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed lawsuits against four New York gas stations and has reached settlements with 25 others for violating the gas price gouging statue immediately after the storm. “Six months ago, as New Yorkers were sitting in lines waiting for hours to buy critical supplies of gasoline, some shady business owners were trying to make a fast buck at their expense,” Schneiderman said on Thursday, May 2. “Today, we are sending a powerful message that ripping off New Yorkers during a time of crisis is against the law and we will do everything in our power to hold them accountable.” The attorney general said his office received hundreds of complaints regarding post-Sandy gas price gouging and price jumps that took place up to several times a day. An investigation into those complaints found dozens of area stations in violation of New York State’s Price Gouging Law. The statute prohibits vendors, retailers and suppliers from charging prices that reflect a “gross disparity” between prices immediately before and after a natural disaster or similar event that cannot be attributed to other factors outside of the seller’s controls. The 25 gas stations that settled will pay a total of $167,850. One of those stations, a Mobil at 40-40 Crescent Street in Long Island City, increased its retail markup on regular gasoline from $1.03 a gallon before Sandy to $2.08 immediately after the storm, according to the attorney general. Drivers paid $4.89 a gallon to fill up their tanks post-storm at the station. Only one New York City gas station, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, along with three in Long Island, is named in Schneiderman’s lawsuit. Investigations are pending against dozens of other stations. PHOTO COURTESY OF SHEINKOPF LTD Lawyer John Houghtaling has represented storm victims after Hurricanes Katrina and Ike and has now come to Queens to help those affected by Sandy. STORM CHASER Lawyer helps victims from Louisiana to Queens BY MAGIE HAYES [email protected] He has helped victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Ike. Now he wants to assist those affected by Sandy. Lawyer John Houghtaling and his firm specialize in claim insurance litigation and disaster recovery law. They have chased storms around the country to help hurricane victims get the recovery they deserve. Most recently, Houghtaling has ventured to New York to help people affected by Sandy. He has spoken at town halls and met with hundreds of clients. “The insurance companies have dominated this process because people really don’t know where to turn,” Houghtaling said. The lawyer said he sees the same thing happen after every storm—insurance companies deferring payments to the federal government. “They don’t want to pay you,” he said. There are five key things that Houghtaling said homeowners should be aware of to get their insurer’s cooperation. First, he suggests getting a home inspection done by an independent adjuster, not one affiliated with the insurance company. The company’s adjuster has more reason to save the company money and downplay damages to a home. Second, understand the difference between wind-driven rain and flooding. Wind-driven rain penetrates a home’s walls, and insurance companies are supposed to pay for the damages. However, Houghtaling said insurance companies are “trained to blame everything on flood,” which is covered by federal aid. Next, homeowners are entitled to an unconditional check of their residences. Houghtaling said you should understand the timeframe in which insurance companies are supposed to get back to you and ultimately pay for damages. The last tip is to understand the ins and outs of your own insurance policy. Houghtaling said places like Louisiana and Texas are better equipped for catastrophic storms than Queens, where people are “unfamiliar” with where to find help. “The infrastructure to help people isn’t there, so there is massive amounts of confusion,” the attorney said. Homeowners are entitled to recovery assistance up to two years after the date of the storm. Houghtaling recommended getting your home’s walls checked as soon as possible. They can stay wet for eight months to a year, and with the hot summer on its way, mold can become a problem. However, Houghtaling noted that mold is not covered by insurance. Houghtaling’s next speaking appearance is at a town hall meeting on Wednesday, May 22 at Beach Channel High School. OEM revises hurricane evacuation zones BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA [email protected] The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) has released revised hurricane evacuation zones based on a new report that analyzes the city’s response to Sandy. Exact borders are still being finalized and will not be released until June, according to OEM. The office’s preliminary draft replaces the current hurricane evacuation zones—known as Zones A, B and C—with zones numbered one to six. Zone A currently receives a mandatory evacuation notice in the event of a Category 1 or higher storm, as happened during Sandy and Irene; Zone B, during a Category 2 or higher storm; and Zone C during a Category 3 to 5 hurricane. During Sandy, several areas outside of Zone A saw significant flooding. Residents there felt they should have been included in mandatory prestorm evacuations. Frances Scarantino lives in one of those neighborhoods, Howard Beach. The draft OEM map shows part of Howard Beach, which now sits in Zone B, in the new evacuation Zone 1. The Sandy evacuations “didn’t make any sense to me,” said Scarantino. Her own home and businesses were flooded, while rising waters trapped her parents on the second floor of their Howard Beach home near a canal. After the storm hit, Scarantino’s parents’ neighborhood was told to evacuate, but the news never reached them. Although Scarantino begged her parents to leave before Sandy came ashore, her parents, reflecting on the experience of Irene a year earlier, wanted to stay. “My parents have lived there about 35 years and didn’t expect it to be as bad as it was,” she said.
SC05092013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above