Boarded-Up Gas Stations Slowly Reopening On Long Island

MELVILLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- One after the other, all of a sudden dozens of gas stations on Long Island seemed to shut down overnight and were boarded up.

The Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association's Kevin Beyer told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall that a company that was running the stations ran into financial problems.

Listen to Boarded-Up Gas Stations Slowly Reopening On Long Island

"They went bankrupt," Beyer said. "They ended up owing a lot of money to the oil companies. And so the oil companies actually took those locations back that they could."

Little by little, those stations are reopening.

"We don't like to see closed locations," Beyer said. "By having the extra locations around, it does bring competition to the area and hopefully helps the consumer with keeping the prices down."

Beyer said the stations will either have different owners or be operated by the oil companies themselves.