Fuel crunch cripples NJ, NY

>>> developing news right now, janet napolitano is in new york right now to meet with state and local officials and view the ongoing recovery efforts after hurricane sandy. now, the issues, they are sure to address at this point the millions of people still without power. also massive commuter problems today. thousands of people -- take a look at this, looks like ants almost from that vantage point -- stranded by limited public transportation . these are images coming in from earlier today. this is in brooklyn. people trying to get on the bus to come into manhattan. thousands more trying to drive have been stuck in traffic backups up to four hours as they attempt to cross city bridges and tunnels, those are that open. since this morning, only cars carrying three people or more have been allowed to enter manhattan. residents are also in the grip of a massive fuel crunch brought on by power outages and limited fuel deliveries. people lucky enough to get gas through gas stations , well, they've been facing lines two miles long as well. msnbc's richard lui joins us. there again, another line. what are people telling you there, richard?

>> reporter: hey there, tamron. you know what they're saying is when can we get some gas? this line is so long, it is two towns long, it's that far. 60 cars, we walked it earlier today. if you were to try to get in that line, it would take you two hours to get through it. and as you drive, you'd pass by one empty gas station . the reason why they're empty, because they ran out of gas, or they don't have electricity. if they don't have electricity, they can't get gas. i spoke to some of these folks in line earlier. could be three hours now. this is what they told me.

>> we need gas because it's backed up.

>> we needed gas.

>> it will probably be two, three hours.

>> reporter: two or three hours is what you're waiting for? you think you might run out on the way?

>> i'll push it.

>> my car is stranded over on 69th street. i have no way to get it. everybody around there has no gas. my friend just called me on his way to work and said this guy is open so i jumped on my bike and flew down here.

>> reporter: joe valdez bikes almost an hour to this gas station . he had to walk an hour and a halfback three towns over to get back to his car that ran out of gas. i want to show you what's still happening in ridgefield, new jersey. this is the gas tanks and the pricing right now, $3.55, that's about average what we're seeing across new jersey. this is a common sign, cash only. the reason why they're doing that is it's faster. they also make a couple more cents. police have been putting out cones, really common to see in new jersey along with police cars . this station, by the way, they got 9,000 gallons yesterday, they ran out. tamron, by our estimations, they'll probably run out today, by 10:00 p.m . or so.

>> all right, richard lui live for us, thank you. if you would like to help the victims of hurricane sandy, you can logon to nbcnews.com, click on the how to help link for a list of organizations that are accepting donations. you can avoid a lot of the scams that people have been reporting online by going and getting legitimate information there. and tomorrow night, nbc universal is holding a baenefit for the victims. you can watch the telethon live on msnbc 8:00 eastern time tomorrow.