New York inquiry into overpricing in Sandy aftermath

New York's Attorney General has announced an investigation into claims of price hikes on essentials such as fuel and other emergency supplies in the aftermath of Storm Sand.

The investigation was prompted by hundreds of complaints which attempted to draw attention at how unscrupulous shop owners were trying to capitalise over the chaos caused by the natural disaster.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the largest number of complaints concerned increased fuel prices, but other emergency supplies were also affected.

New York's attorney general said that consumers had contacted him to report "possible gouging for emergency supplies like generators, hotels raising rates due to 'high demand', as well as increased prices for food and water".

Schneiderman said that under New York state law, retailers were not allowed to charge "unconscionably excessive prices" for goods required for personal, family or household purposes when there was an abnormal disruption of the market.

At the weekend, long queues of cars and people carrying red canisters built up at petrol stations.

While the queues had shortened by Monday afternoon, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that police officers would be posted at every open petrol station in the city to maintain order.

As a result of the storm, 8.5 million homes and businesses were initially left without power, prompting a surge in demand for generators and hotel rooms.

More than one million people in New Jersey and New York City are without power a week after the storm hit.

The cost of the city's response to the disaster has spiralled to $85.4m.

New York Comptroller John Liu said emergency contracts to repair damage included more than $30m (£18m; 23 million euros) for work on the city's beaches. A further $15m will be spent on pumping equipment and sewage plants.

Storm damage has affected preparations for Tuesday's elections, with hundreds of polling stations closed.

New Yorkers will now be able to vote at any polling station in the state, under an executive order signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

There are also increasing fears of potential damage from another storm with winds of up to 50mph (80km/h) due to reach coastal areas on Thursday.

One of the most immediate tasks facing New York and New Jersey authorities is the 1.4 million homes and businesses still without power.

With temperatures set to fall to near freezing for a second consecutive night, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged elderly and families with infants to move to shelters.

Bloomberg announced the appointment of an experienced disaster official, Brad Gair, to oversee the city's housing crisis.

Bloomberg initially put the number of people in need of longer-term emergency shelter at between 30,000 and 40,000 but on Monday he estimated the figure to be less than 10,000.

In the meantime, transport authorities had opened more subway lines on Monday, as more commuters returned to work and one million students returned to school for the first time since the storm.

But platforms were teeming with travellers, trains were overcrowded and limited bus services struggled to meet the demand for services into New York City.

Meanwhile, the forecasters warned of a new storm approaching the US east coast.

According to the National Weather Service, the coastal storm could reach South and North Carolina late on Tuesday before spreading northwards, strengthening as it moves up towards New Jersey by Thursday.

"Prepare for more outages," Weather Service meteorologist Joe Pollina was reported as warning by Associated Press.