NEW YORK - - - Motorists have been waiting in gas lines of nearly a mile at those stations in the New York area that still have fuel, and still have the power with which to pump it.

One man waited three hours in line at a station in the Bronx -- only to have the station run out of gas when it was almost his turn. So, he joined a line nearly a mile long at a station in Manhattan.

Another man got in line in his van at 5 a.m. today in Brooklyn -- and by 8 a.m., he was still two dozen cars from the front. He had a half-tank when he started -- and had already used up half of that amount.

The line for gas at that station snaked onto fairly narrow but busy streets, causing some confusion. Some drivers accidentally found themselves in the gas line, and people got out of their cars to yell at them for cutting in.

Long lines also formed in suburban Westchester County as early as 6 a.m. Dozens of cars snaked along the breakdown lane of an expressway, waiting for gas at a rest stop.