in the end, mass transit is the solution for every big city, certainly for new york city. if not mass transit, then you have to take the roads, and roads are not just for automobiles. they are for bicyclist and pedestrians as well. we used to have a number of deaths every year by a traffic accident in herald square and times square, and today, i think there is virtually none. the number of traffic deaths in new york city has gone down to below the lowest when we started keeping records, which was about 1909 or 1910, something along those lines, and keeping people say is one of the transportation commissioners jobs, and she has done a great job. controversial, yes, but if you do not have a commission that is controversial, you do not have a commission that is trying new things. >> [inaudible] >> don't take hours. i do not think he would come. >> [inaudible] >> yes, you have to have somebody that understands the first job is to make the streets safe so you do not have to look over your shoulder. they have to do it consistent with the constitution of the united states, but i

the managers in new york city are unionized. the workers in new york city unions at the -- at the worker level; the police and cops, sanitation workers alike, i think have the same attitude, you know? we like our -- we -- you know, we want to be paid a fair wage, but we -- we're here because we want to make a difference for new york city. it's just more difficult because there's 200 unions and not eight and they're layered on top of each other and they're crisscrossed with civil service rules that make it very difficult for people to exercise their discretion in the same way they did in indianapolis. >> when i checked out of the hotel today, my bill included 16 percent tax. >> thank you. >> the -- yes. the -- if you go to indianapolis, it's not like that, but if you -- if you -- i mean, first of all, the rooms are very expensive here an they're often full. what is it about people that come here that are willing to take all this tax, this 16? and that's lower than it used to be. >> well, new york city is a very exciting place, i

you were on board as deputy mayor of new york city. what is the difference in being an operations deputy mayor than the rest of them? some where you said you'd rather have somebody else's debbie meier job. >> one thing that drew me to new york is i wanted to start -- somebody else is the deputy mayor job. one deputy mayor has done some remarkable stuff on homelessness and affordable housing. she does social services and someone else does education and economic development. i do the mechanics of government, police, fire, sanitation, budget. when i had it been interviewed by a "the times, go i said i would be happy to trade places with her. >> there are 50,000 policemen here, which is bigger than all of the government of indianapolis. >> there are more police officers and their art total employees of indianapolis -- then there are total employees of indianapolis, yes. there are up about 350,000 public employees in new york. that means one out of every 2.5 people in indianapolis would be a public employee in new york. >> how many people r

and that's what new york city did. they first went to the hudson highlands, but 150 years later, it went to the delaware highlands. and really diverted the water that normally went to philadelphia to new york city. i don't think they anticipated that. narrator: the majority of new york city's drinking water comes from watersheds in upstate new york. a watershed is the area of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water. mountains act as a funnel to feed rivers and lakes. and in this case, reservoirs. in the new york city system, water is collected and stored in 19 reservoirs, which can hold more than a year's supply -- over 580 billion gallons of water. almost all of the system is fed by gravity, without the use of energy-consuming pumps. valves open to regulate the flow into the 85-mile-long delaware aqueduct -- the longest tunnel in the world. at hillview reservoir... the water is partitioned into another giant tunnel system. where it travels deep below manhattan. the pressure built u

new york and i mention that only because of the the new york the new york city smoking ban that will soon be implemented because that is something that has not been implemented anywhere else throughout the country in terms of not being allowed to smoke in public places such as parks but clauses this essentially allows fines to be written out day after day after day i mean this is the crossroads of the world you have so many people coming here from all over the country from all over the world foreigners that won't know the laws they won't know that they can't light up in times square and when they do they will be slapped with a fifty dollar fine lot of money that the city can generate and then addition i think you mentioned this in your report a lot of times if they do light up when they finish their package they want to new one it's not thirteen dollars for a new one so certainly they're also believe all these little ways to bring the money and very important i.r.c. correspondent in our new york studio and from paying fines to paying for a lot of turns out these days that's an option

most circulated paper in new york city. and getting bigger as time goes on we'll try to engage in some of this thinking where people are thinking of this early and not just presented with a plan to go, thumbs up or down on it. the idea of putting sustained conversation with consistent information is very important. this is new york city does not preclude the water utilities thinking about climate change and water and the things that go along with that and trying reach out nationally. one more. last one. >> i'm representing the endangered species coalition. made up of four hundred different groups. i guess my question from yesterday revolved the impacts of global warming like the, eco basis. >> i don't want to disappoint you but we're not going to be able to do questions. so i hope you can make this a comment. >> i would encourage water managers and people included in water matters try to preclude or include other species and in the process early on rather than late in the game which has occurred down through history where w

from moscow still ahead in the program a new way to balance the books new york city authorities have come up with a simple solution to their budget problems by creating a new set of rules and fines for minor offenses of a story of. military service the first isn't an easy task but in russia young recruits often face horrific bullying upon entrance into the army and rights organizations have been lobbying and. the problem was artie's jacob graves reports in some cases it's simply too late most morning this report contains footage of graphic. it's a disturbing sight one that's on the rise in the russian army. it's called hazing and valentino is all too familiar with its consequences you can hear that in the reports about thought is that frank physically and mentally are coming in every day . she runs the committee of soldiers mothers an organization partly funded by the government on a day to day basis her job is to protect soldiers from the harsh realities of service. there the flood protection rackets when it would have to pay and now the soldiers say seventy dollars a month to be ab

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran and bill weir in new york city and cynthia mcfadden in london, this is "nightline," april 26th, 2011. >> good evening all, i'm bill weir. and you know we live in interesting times when even the weather is a wedge issue. but in this political climate, few terms are more loaded than climate change. after months of epic droughts and floods, blizzards and heat waves, some are seeing proof of warnings past, while others refuse to believe that man could ever wreck god's planet. but neither side can deny that we are having one hellacious spring. >> this thing is right over my head. >> reporter: there is nothing unusual about tornadoes in april. but this many? this deadly? it is more than unusual. because it's not just happening in tornado alley, where midwesterners know all about spring twisters. no, funnel clouds have risen in sobering numbers from mississippi to maryland. >> there goes the roof off a house. >> reporter: if you average the past three years, april typically brings two killer tornadoes that take six lives.

down in our basement this retired new york city police officer nurtures our garden of rebellion this garden is about reacting and defying their attempt to control my behavior hundreds of home grown tobacco leaves hanging to dry before silk shreds and smokes for nicotine we're talking about products here so back it was legal if they don't want people to small pay should go to congress and lobby to have it criminalized the big apple's new smoking ban comes a bit close very soon it will be illegal to light up in new york city's parks beaches and pedestrian plaza like this one in times square violators caught blowing smoke can be slapped with a fifty dollars fine. if that's so dangerous why do so probably make the law because they want to their morning america. like we so so much the bad guy coming can smoke i think should say the ban aims to limit harmful public exposure to second hand smoke this is the latest avalanche of restrictions rules and prohibitions being aggressively enforced under a shrinking economy among them a one hundred dollar fine for putting too much personal rubbish i

artsy new york. also have for you on a program by israel's desperation for workers a sleeping baby rice for themselves because they're tempted to vote for expects them to. taste. when the rich are being rich that's why they're here you blame yourself for that yeah right right . you know when new york for their thoughts and by the wealthy are getting even more money what else is an. army life can be tough with a russian conscripts there's an added danger systematic bullying and abuse from within their own ranks. agree is discovered how the current humiliation becomes tragic and what their report contains. the disturbing sight of one that's on the rise in the russian army. it's called hazing ability or it's all too familiar with its consequences you can hear that in the reports about soldiers suffering critically and mentally are coming in every day. she runs the committee of soldiers mothers and organization partly funded by the government on a day to day basis her job is to protect soldiers from the

thank you. >> first, new york city, new york city is so far ahead of any other city in america, as it relates coming out of the recession, being ultimately able to resume where it was when it was at the peak of its career in a very positive way. when you look at the city today, you read that 10% of all jobs created in the united states in the last quarter were created in new york city. that's incredible. it's just incredible. i think new york city's population is about 3% of the united states, and so we are way ahead in terms of prosperity, current and yet to come. but the most important thing that mayor bloomberg has done, which he gets very little credit for, is he has changed the whole tone of race relations in the city. to the best of my knowledge, there simply is no racial problem in this city. there was, not just that which we refer to undermine administration, for reasons i've given you, but under giuliani, under david dinkins. it was there. mike bloomberg changed it. and the question always will exist, how did he do it? it's his personality. he's not -- he's a man of vision bu

york city . you know i'll be honest with you i really don't have a problem with it why not. you know i think this is i don't i don't know that we're necessarily introducing a new element here i think a new element is the honesty for me. i think people that doing this forever. people have been going on dates there's an exchange for the time that people are investing in that date and so typically that has been sort of the the border of the day right so you go out with somebody and one of the two people picks up the seat for the dinner the tab and that's the part or that's that's the deeper service there i think that's an interesting point i mean to an extent you are sort of throwing political correctness out the window but on the other hand you know this class system on the on the web site you know you have to rate yourself as either generous or attractive but let's be honest here i mean most people think about high school most people rank themselves in those categories anyways right based on who t

no better way to kick off this week in new york than with bam, the mayor of new york city. mayor blikele bloomberg. he is serving -- michael bloomberg. he is serving his third term and has vowed to make education the primary focus on his final term. glad to have you. >> welcome to new york. we would like you to be here all the time. tavis: we'll work on that. good to see you. let me start with some news you made. i want to get your take on. i caught you on fox yesterday. and was intrigued by your comments when asked about donald trump. for tho that didn't see it, just recount your advice for donald trump. >> he is a new york icon. a little bit bigger than life. his daughter i know pretty well. married to the publisher of a small newspaper here. very smart and donald is donald. he is bigger than life. and anybody can run for president. that's fine. the birther issue is bigger than donald trump, however. there are states that are passing laws regarding verification of whether you're in compliance of the constitution that says you have to be born in america. i think number one

turning to new york where authorities of come out with a novel way of dealing with the city's budget deficit a string of new regulations and skyrocketing fines for petty offenses are bringing in much needed cash but is our he's a marine a port nies been finding out locals say officials are violating their freedom of expression and cashing in in the process. marjorie silk is something of a smoker's rights champion. living in a city where a pack of cigarettes cost thirteen bucks and the freedom to puff where you please grows ever more limited. down in our basement this retired new york city police officer nurtures our garden of rebellion this garden is about reacting and defying their attempt to control my behavior hundreds of home grown tobacco leaves hanging to dry before silk shreds and smokes for nicotine we're talking about products here so back it was legal if they don't want people to smoke they should go to congress and lobby to have it criminalized the big apple's new smoking ban comes a bit close very soon it will be illegal to light up in new york city's parks beaches and pe

we expect you to come to new york city. i will repay the complement. i do not know how many of these i will have left by the time you get there, but i will try to show you the same hospitality the san francisco has shown me all these years that i have been coming here. it is a wonderful city, and thank you all for having us. ed lee -- mayor lee: we have something for mayor bloomberg. i think he will find it very special. charlotte, would you like to explain what is underneath here? >> [inaudible] the mayor's idea was to make you an honorary citizen. >> do i have to pay taxes? [laughter] >> [inaudible] if you want to get attention in your office. have you seen his office? it is like a bull pen. [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> thank you very much. i cannot wait. >> [inaudible] [laughter] >> probably have to cook them first.

archie new york. we have more complaints of official heavy handedness still ahead this hour this time in london where police are waiting for making partner a virtual arrest to keep protesters out of sight in the war over oil wedding day. plus paying for a day or so of paying for sex a new web site sparks controversy in the u.s. over whether. people are looking for a load before last. oh before we get to that leaving your homeland in search of a better job is a basic human and vision and with a big demand for foreign labor israel may seem like the perfect option for thousands of chinese but some criminal israeli employment agencies are offering the world for a fee delivering only a life of hardship costlier takes a look. in china understood lee was a big shot he owned a textile business had gotten thousands of dollars a year but he gave it up on the advice of a friend and forked out a small fortune to travel to israel hoping that the promised land would full his pocket it was not worth it for me becaus

rules were suspended and a means of income for new york city was brought to a halt critics like gerald celente say policing the people is becoming a means for city and states to deal with budget deficits and economic hardship what are these cops telling is this why we have a police force to check on every minor infraction that we make they become goon squads they have to bring in revenue to keep their jobs. every day thousands of cash strapped new yorkers visit manhattan's finance office to pay the city for forgiveness this is getting ridiculous i mean i don't know since the city will try to make money wherever they can get people to pay you know it's interesting. you know bicycle in the city two hundred thirty tickets two hundred seventy bucks each have reportedly been issued to cyclists in central park this year compare that with just eleven tickets issued in all of twenty time we've just had just got on the sidewalk and somebody started yelling at. you know if you can get arrested and we weren't even cycling we were just standing over our bike meanwhile our two still may eventually

new york is the most densely populated city in the u.s. and over 40 million tourists visit the city every year. the 1.3 billion gallons of water required every day are delivered by a system of extraordinary scale and complex engineering. man: water is essential to the economic viability of new york city. reliable infrastructure and reliable delivery of water is a must. you have to reinvest in the infrastructure every single minute to keep it current. hurwitz: we have the stock exchange, we have the united nations -- failure can have a dramatic impact on the nation, and even internationally. so there's a really keen awareness that you always have to be fixing the system. things corrode, they rust. they get to where you turn them on and nothing happens. but it is so totally used in every nook and cranny, that making any accommodation to shut it down, to do something to it, is very difficult. narrator: two massive underground tunnels, called simply tunnel 1 and tunnel 2, provide most of the city's water supply. they run hundreds of feet below

artsy new york. so they head for you why israel's desperation for workers is the laborers talking to themselves as it seems to do with the prospects and find themselves you. also. i'm going to look for being rich that's why they're here you blame yourself for that you might. see people in your thoughts on why the wealthy are getting more money. life can be tough for russian conscripts that's the danger systematic abuse from within the ranks. becomes tragically too much for some. things. it's a disturbing sight of one that's on the rise in the russian army. it's called hazing ability or it's all too familiar with its consequences you can hear in that in the reports about thought is suffering physically and mentally are coming in every day. she runs the committee of soldiers mothers an organization partly funded by the government on a day to day basis her job is to protect soldiers from the harsh realities of service you have near a fabric action rackets when it will have to pay and now the soldiers sa

>> i was a general assignment reporter in new york city. i covered anything that came down the pike from celebrity interviews to police commission hearings, to city hall to fifth avenue. and really i learned a lot about the city, about writing. it was a place where we were really urged to bring bright writing to newspaper stories. it really set me up, i think r, for the rest of my career. >> what year did you get out of college? >> 1974. >> >> you have been in new york city for the last 18, 19 years. >> in 1970 to go to college, so, yeah, i guess 22, 23 years, something like that. >> when you think about those days at the "new york post" and stories that you have offered, do it have memories? name a couple. >> oh, gosh. i remember coming in the first hears that became so famous about corruption in the nursing home system in new york city and how badly elderly people were treated, which made a huge impression on me. i remember doing a profile of sean connery and not being able to get a word out of him for almost the entire interview and then

new york. israel's demand for foreign labor attracts thousands of chinese people looking for a better job abroad but some criminal employment agencies offering the world for a fee deliver only a life of hardship obviously are excellent. in china mr levy was a big shot he owned a textile business had gotten thousands of dollars a year but he gave it up on the advice of a friend and forked out a small fortune to travel to israel hoping that the promised land would full his part. it was not worth it for me because for years all my suv twelve thousand dollars i would have made more than that in china in those years for many years is well welcome chinese laborers with open arms they and other foreign workers provided a much needed workforce replacing palestinians who are finding it more and more difficult to work in israel amid a deteriorating security situation today most of the nearly eleven thousand chinese laborers work in construction many are illegal and were lured here about a big promises of

it's led by new york city, but it's really over 40 health organizations. other cities and other states that are working together. we think it has the opportunity for tremendous impact and the ability to save lives. >> reporter: of course, we can all make healthier food choices without the government's help. it's simple to choose a fruit instead of fries. but the salt initiative is taking aim at the salts we don't see. >> almost 80% of the salt that we take in each day comes from packaged and restaurant food. still, most consumers don't really have any control over the salt that they take in. it's already in the food when we buy it. it's not always actually the salt that you taste. a muffin can have a lot of salt. >> reporter: when you're shopping for packaged food, check the label. salt is listed as sodium. it's measured in milligrams. and you don't need more than 2,300 milligrams a day. they add up fast. even a can of vegetable soup can be loaded with sodium. >> you can have as much salt as you're supposed to eat in a whole day in one chicken sandwich at

archie new york. still ahead for you why israel's desperation for workers is leaving labor is only for themselves tentative prospects and to end up living in fear. when the rich are being rich that's why they're here do you blame yourself for that you write my book. york but their thoughts on why the wealthy are better than one bunny level else struggles and all. army life can be tough for russian conscripts there's an added danger systematic bullying and abuse from within their own ranks but he's discovered how valid humiliation becomes tragically too much for some to behead this report contains footage of graphic. it's a disturbing site one that's on the rise in the russian army. it's called hazing ability or it's all too familiar with its consequences you can hear in the ads in the reports about forgeries covering physically and mentally are coming in every day. she runs the committee of soldiers mothers an organization partly funded by the government on a day to day basis her job is to protect sol

in new york city, this is "nightline," march 31st, 2011. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. we're going to begin with fears of radiation exposure in the united states that were stirred anew today. the fda reported higher than normal levels of radioactive iodine 131 in milk samples from california and washington. now, those levels, however, were tiny. far less than what we're exposed to naturally every day and they are still deemed safe. 5,000 times below the danger threshold, okay? but the come contamination around japan's stricken nuclear plant is the very dangerous indeed. radioactive iodine there is 10,000 times the permissible limit. here's david wright. >> reporter: today, more bad news from the reactor. radiation levels rose dramatically. rad radioactive iodine is now at 10,000 times the permissible limit. radioactive cesi mu, 5um, 500 t. it lingers for hundreds of years. this sign says off-limits, but there's not anybody here to object. 20 clom terms outside the plant, the radiation levels are too high for check points manned. so the crew drives on past. everyone was

york city. the m.c. was legendary motown singer and rock and roll hall of fame artist martha reeves. the kids received a video message from popular recording artist alicia keys and our students made great friends with scores of kids across the country and got to see the sites of new york city. truly a memorable experience i'm sure for the both of you and we're so proud and we're looking forward to your performance this evening. but before you go do that i'd love to invite the society director of the bay area, emily. >> thank you, president mendoza. good evening, everybody. yes, these are our two poets who just got back from new york city and i'm very, very proud of them. we made our debut last year here at the meeting and we're very happy to come back and just to give you a scope of america scores bay area, we are the only soccer and literacy after school program in san francisco with also programs in richmond but of course san francisco is number one. and we play soccer and we write poetry and

down in our basement this retired new york city police officer nurtures a garden of rebellion this garden is about reacting and to find their time to

. >>> coming up next, news about new york city's newest starlet and twitter sensation. >>> big news tonight on the education front. cathy black, a former magazine executive with no education experience, is out after just three stormy months on the job at head of the public schools here in new york city, the nation's largest school system. mayor michael bloomberg stunned just about everybody when he appointed black. today, he took full responsibility for the fact his choice didn't work out. >>> oil prices continued their march higher, rising $1.47 to $110.30 a barrel today. on wall street, the dow bounced back from a nearly 100-point loss to close down 17 point on the day. >>> new york's latest instant celebrity has a new name today. she's a deadly egyptian cobra missing from her home at the bronx zoo for a while. though she turned up hiding in a corner. her fame was rammed up a notch when a twitter account of her supposed escapades around new york city surfaced. well, as for the name, decided via popular vote, mia, mia, as in missing in action. >>> up next, a pregnant woman diagnosed with s

artsy new york. west of the head q why israel's desperation for workers is leaving neighbors i think for themselves as their term to do prospects of to end up living in fear of deportation also. being rich that's why they're here you blame yourself for that yeah right. yes new york for their thoughts on the wealthy getting money but everyone else is coming along. the life can be tough but for russian conscripts there's an added danger systematic bullying and abuse from within their own ranks. he has discovered how the planet's humiliation becomes tragically so much for something that this report contains footage growth. it's a disturbing site one that's on the rise in the russian army. it's called hazing and the latino is all too familiar with its consequences you can hear in that in the reports about thought is suffering physically and mentally are coming in every day. she runs the committee of soldiers mothers an organization partly funded by the government on a day to day basis her job is to prote

york city i'm not i've been but i remember watching the news reports days and days out that propaganda of the towers coming down a lot in space tiresome and gamble on its face and i was i was born and sold i mean i went to the recruiting station i was fourteen and i tried to sign up to the military with a god ok fourteen and i didn't have to you know i was unable to sign out some rules are in place for a reason and they're very good and and then when i was about sixteen or seventeen i was hanging out with the kind of role of crowd in brooklyn new york city i got beat up by the police department and ever since that happened i tried to press charges i had witnesses i had pictures of bruises so this was our city with that some sixty something to it was a couple years later and between nine eleven and then and this catalyst event you didn't really you weren't politically engaged you weren't questionable not at all i was just i was playing bars of the basketball and so you had so you had a run in with the police and i remember the person appointed to my case said i was never beat up by the

kathie lee and hoda are having ale royal watching party of their own in new york city. what did you think of the wedding? >> was there a wedding? did they kiss yet? >> twice!

>> reporter: rose wrote the postcard to caroline who moved to new york city. >> carol was my best friend. we did everything together. she was my support system. she was like a sister to me. >> reporter: rose's friend caroline followed a boyfriend to new york, only to be left heartbroken. she wrote rose for advice. her reply bu plply was the post hoping to entice her back home. >> you thought she didn't write back? >> that's correct. i thought she made a decision, which was okay with me. i felt, well, caroline knows what's best for her. i never heard from her. >> reporter: where did you think caroline had been all these years? >> i thought she was still in new york. >> reporter: we found caroline. she wasn't in new york. >> hi! >> reporter: nice to meet you. what are you doing here? >> i live here now. >> reporter: here in san diego? >> yes. >> reporter: ten years ago caroline moved back to her home state, always wondering what happened to her friend rose who she thought had never written

in 1853 in response to a freight elevator accident in new york city. until that time, elevators were quite common in buildings but typically used just for handling freight. elisha otis -- elijah otis successfully demonstrated the safety device he had created. even of the elevator and he cut the device, and he did not fall. everyone was impressed by that. in 1857, the oldest brother's company installed their first passenger elevator on broadway in new york. believe it or not, many of those first elevators were actually started and stopped by a hand broke. >> what drove those old elevators? what was their motive power? >> in some cases, they might have even been hp. >> and then changed to electric? >> electric cited to come in the 1890's, and that was around the time when the elevator stopped from material handling and started to be used more frequently for passengers. in 1878, there was a demonstration of the other thing that allowed architects to build taller buildings was the advent of a higher quality steel manufacturing. in 19003, the first producti