CONSUMER SERVICE EXPLAINER — COST OF LIVING & CIVIC ACCESS
Suspect storm price gouging? Save the price, date, place and proof.
New York's attorney general is urging residents to document unusually high prices for essential storm goods and services before filing a complaint. No Rockland business, complaint or violation is confirmed.
Save this before you report
- Price: record the specific amount you saw or were charged.
- Date and place: note when and where you saw the price.
- Proof: keep the receipt and a photo of the advertised price, if available.
- Online complaint: use the Attorney General's official form ↗.
- Phone: call 800-771-7755.
The alert covers essential storm goods and services
The Attorney General's September 26 consumer alert lists food, water, gasoline, generators, batteries, flashlights, hotel lodging and transportation among the essentials covered by New York's price-gouging law. The list is illustrative, not permission to assume that every higher price is illegal.
The alert identifies the Hudson Valley among the areas facing high wind, heavy rain and possible flooding and asks all New Yorkers to report suspected price gouging. It says the governor's storm declaration covers New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties; it does not name Rockland County.
A price increase is not automatically a violation
General Business Law § 396-r prohibits an unconscionably excessive price for essential goods or services during an abnormal market disruption. A court can compare the price with what the seller charged immediately before the disruption or with readily available prices for the same or similar goods in the trade area.
The law also allows a seller to present evidence that an increase preserved its earlier profit margin or reflected added costs outside its control. That is why a clear record of the price, date, place and available comparison is more useful than a general description that something felt expensive.
Report the concern; do not declare the result
A resident can submit the documentation through the official price-gouging complaint form ↗ or call 800-771-7755. Filing a complaint does not establish a violation, guarantee a refund or promise an enforcement action.
The Attorney General's alert says violations can carry penalties up to $25,000 per violation. The statute separately authorizes a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation or three times the gross receipts for the relevant goods or services, whichever is greater, and permits restitution where appropriate.
What is—and is not—known locally
No Rockland merchant, complaint, investigation, enforcement action or price-gouging violation is confirmed in the records used for this guide. Do not identify or photograph a local business as a violator based only on a price that appears unusual; preserve the evidence and send the concern to the agency that can investigate it.
What changes for a resident: if an essential storm good or service appears sharply overpriced, save the specific price, date, location, receipt and photo before filing a complaint with the New York Attorney General.
Primary sources: the New York Attorney General's severe-storm consumer alert ↗, published September 26, 2026; General Business Law § 396-r ↗, current revision displayed from December 15, 2023; and the official complaint form ↗. The alert, statute, complaint route and listed phone number were rechecked September 27, 2026, at 6:53 a.m. EDT. No Rockland merchant, complaint, enforcement action or violation is confirmed, and Rockland is not among the counties named in the emergency declaration described by the alert.