As New Yorkers shovel out from a major winter storm, state and local officials are telling shoppers to keep an eye on the price tags. Businesses that suddenly jack up the cost of basics like food, fuel or hotel rooms in the middle of an emergency could find themselves under investigation and facing penalties. The warning comes as some residents deal with scarce supplies and lingering power outages.
What Officials Are Saying
Attorney General Letitia James has issued a consumer alert reminding New Yorkers that the state’s price gouging law bans “unconscionably excessive” pricing during emergencies. In a release, the Office of the Attorney General urged residents to stay vigilant, document questionable prices and file complaints or call 1-800-771-7755 if they suspect abuse. The advisory flags essentials such as food, water, gasoline, generators, batteries and hotel lodging as items covered under the law.
How Price Gouging Is Defined
New York City treats a price as excessive when it is at least 10% higher than what a buyer would have paid for the same or a similar item 30 to 60 days before a declared emergency, according to the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. That threshold applies during a state of emergency and covers goods and services considered necessary for health and safety. City officials recommend that consumers keep receipts and take photos as evidence when they report suspected gouging.
Local Officials Amplify the Warning
Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson helped boost the message locally, retweeting the attorney general’s alert on X on Feb. 23 so Bronx residents would see the warning in her post. Her post echoed the call to report any suspicious price spikes on essentials. Ahead of the storm, Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency as the nor’easter approached, mobilizing resources and warning of heavy snow, coastal flooding and potential outages across the region.
Penalties And How To Report
Violations can come with steep penalties, with fines reaching up to $25,000 per violation, and the attorney general’s office says it is prepared to pursue both one-off incidents and broader patterns of abuse. Shoppers who suspect price gouging are urged to keep receipts, snap photos of advertised prices and note dates and locations, then either file a complaint online or call 1-800-771-7755 to report what they saw.
Why This Matters
The alert comes as forecasters warned of blizzard conditions that could dump a foot or more of snow and trigger outages across the Tri-State area, prompting emergency declarations and travel restrictions ahead of the storm, according to NBC New York. Officials say quick reporting from residents helps them crack down on bad actors and protect the shoppers who are most vulnerable when supplies and services are stretched thin.
