Rockville Centre villagers adjusting to costly gas

Liam Wall, a former Rockville Centre resident, just returned from a trip to Ireland. When he arrived back on Long Island last week, he was astounded by the rising gas prices that awaited him at the pump. It was as if his vacation suddenly shifted into a nightmarish scene, compounded by the continually increasing price in fuel that has made it less and less affordable for Americans to stay on the road.

On April 27, the price for regular gas at the Mobil Station on Sunrise Highway was $4.19 a gallon. “It’s nuts,” said Wall, who now lives in Long Beach. “I used to check for the lowest gas prices, but I eventually stopped.”

Wall said that he might begin to research the cheapest gas locations again as a result of what it now costs to fill up a tank. In the meantime, he limits his purchase of gas each week.

But despite his frustration, he said there has been a silver lining to the rise in fuel costs: he is using his bicycle more often to make trips to stores, which has provided him with some exercise.

Eileen Palazzolo, who lives in Rockville Centre, shared a similar sentiment. “It’s ridiculous,” she said. “This is the worst I’ve ever seen it.” Like Wall, Palazzolo was also out of state recently. And while in New Jersey, the gas prices there, which are lower, but still high, did not go unnoticed. The only benefit, she said, was that she didn’t have to get out of her car to use the pump — New Jersey prohibits it. Palazzolo also said she has begun to limit her trips to the gas station each week.

“Unfortunately, the prices keep going up and oil companies are just passing along their increases…” said Anton Parisi, owner of Anton’s Car Care Center on Sunrise Highway “Overall the industry is suffering as people are buying less gas. Over the last year a number of stations have closed and the ones still in business are selling less even with the closings.” He said the real culprits behind the precipitous increase in gasoline prices are speculators trading on commodities.

Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks consumer spending, estimated that drivers across the country bought 2.4 million fewer gallons of gasoline in the week starting April 1 than they did at the same period last year — a 3.6 percent drop. Approximately 140,000 service stations were monitored in the estimate.

As it turns out, the Hess and Getty stations on Sunrise Highway are the cheapest destinations for villagers to buy gas. Jon-Michael Marino, a Rockville Centre resident for the last 15 years, has been taking advantage of these spots in an effort to save as much money as possible. “It’s really absurd how quickly the prices are rising,” said Marino, who considers himself a smart and watchful consumer. “I now feel like I have to consciously go out with cash instead of a credit card to try to help myself as much as possible.”

Last week, the two stations sold regular gas at $4.15 a gallon. Several other Sunrise Highway locations hovered around the $4.20 mark: the Gulf station sold at $4.19, while Mobil and the Ocean Avenue Gulf station were priced at $4.23 and $4.25, respectively.

Gas is now 32 percent more expensive than at this time last year and experts predict the increases will continue through the summer. As a result, many are now looking for alternatives to transportation that consumes a lot of fuel, sometimes turning to smaller cars that get better mileage.

Others, like Wall, are using two wheels to get around town. And Marino said he has been walking more.

“Hopefully it gets better,” he said. “Right now I’m admiring the spring weather during my errands in the neighborhood.”

Judy Rattner and Chris Connolly contributed to this story. Comments about it? TSteinert@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.