It’s Ass For Gas As Fuel Shortages Plague East Coast

With gas shortages plaguing the East Coast in Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath, some are hoping gas-thirsty residents will go to extreme lengths to get their hands on some fuel.

If you need proof, look no further than the Craigslist’s Casual Encounters section where some are offering to barter gas for sex and vice-versa, as Jezebel notes. Sample ads include “GAS GAS GAS HERE….Wanna Trade – m4w,” “GOT GAS!! SO COME AND GET THIS PHAT ASS..24/7 SPECIALS,” and the somewhat less imaginative, but similarly rhymey “Who’s staying in because they have no gas? Get head instead.”

Though crude, the ads may come as no surprise given the great lengths New York and New Jersey residents have gone through to get gas, including waiting in line for hours. In fact, a black market for fuel has sprung up in response to the post-Sandy shortage, New York Magazine reports. Prices advertised on Craigslist have reached up to $20 per gallon. One New York man was so eager to take advantage of the inflated prices that he drove to Connecticut, filled up 30 five-gallon Home Depot buckets and attempted to drive them back to his New York City neighbors, NBC Connecticut reports.

Some have resorted to violence, however. A Queens man allegedly pulled a gun while at the pump after trying to cut the line last week.

Meanwhile, attorneys general in both New Jersey and New York have attempted to crackdown on price gouging, while state legislators are now considering a mandate to require gas stations to have generators so that fuel may be pumped during power outages to avoid shortages in the future.

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