NEW YORK – Genaro Nauth can’t fill up at a gas station on 36th Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan where one gallon costs $5.60, well above average in the city.

“I can't afford to fill up a tank, I only put one gallon because I have to go to Queens,” said Nauth. “It's coming out of my pocket it's coming out of my finances to help my grandmother. It's a bit tough."

Shelling out the money to fill up their cars is making motorists think strategically about driving.

“I have to take the train more now because of the gas price,” said Rob Escalere, a driver from New Jersey who works in the city.

According to AAA, the average price of regular gas in the city hit $4.29 a gallon on Monday, a nickel increase from the prior day.

Last week, it was $3.85. Last month, a gallon cost $3.61. And a year ago, it was $2.90.

The highest average price for regular was $4.41 a gallon in the summer of 2008.

“We're in some rarefied territory and I think that for all of the tri state area we're going to be breaking records soon if things continue the way they are,” Robert Sinclair, spokesman for AAA Northeast, said.

For Jimmy Zhou, visiting from Boston, the price of gas won’t stop him from showing off his Lamborghini.

“It's worth any price to drive this thing around but it sucks to have the price this high," Zhou said.

Gov. Hochul on Monday said her administration is looking into a holiday for the state's 10 cent per gallon gas tax, but she said there's no guarantee it'll help drivers.