san francisco is a transit first city. we are all working on transit inclusion and access for everyone. it has been mentioned that federal money is becoming increasingly more difficult to obtain, and that we are so close to the finishing line, after 15 years of work, from the mta, city community, and we want to use this opportunity to lock in the infrastructure benefits for our neighborhoods. lastly, to point to some of the economic benefits and job gains -- one of the businesses that relocated, they moved two weeks ago, and they have already hired local small-business people. i just want to point that out as for the small business development. keep this project going and help us to fill this community dream. commissioner mirkarimi: any other public comment? >> i am a consultant, working with state muni san francisco. you should not pass this today. there was a lot of gobbledygook by the young lady who spoke on the initial part, but what she said, if you listen to it, is the full funding agreement may not be available. in c

a city, we need to do much better at creating an environment where we have more jobs and economic development. we are also extremely challenge in our public transit. we talk about being a transit firstity, but everyone has had the experience of sitting in gridlock, waiting for the bus, trying to hail that tab, walking on pedestrian sidewalks that are not particularly safe. as a city, we need to do more to invest in the first-class transportation system. >> what are some of the biggest issues facing your district? >> in addition to the local economy that impacts the merchant corridors, to many vacant storefronts, transit issues, in every neighborhood we're having a real conversation about how we change, whether we should preserve aspects of the important characters of our neighborhood or think about building new things. there is also a real discussion we're having in many neighborhoods about affordability. i hear from too many tenants in the process of being evicted, homeowners being foreclosed on. we need to think about how all of us can continue to live in a city where the whole world wants to be. >> it is a great place to be. >> it is a great place to be. how do you balance the ne

san francisco, we talk about it being a transit first city, but it does not mean a lot of options for transit are not well thought out in places further from downtown. my district is one place where we need to create better options. >> you mentioned muni and the changes that are happening. what about parking, traffic, is the area safer for pedestrians? >> there is always a lot of work to do with pedestrians. making sure the department of parking and traffic is painting along alemany. along balboa park station, geneva, san jose, pushing hard to get a ramp for pedestrians. right now, it is dangerous to cross the street, especially if you are pushing a stroller or are in a wheelchair. you have to go further than you but typically have to. there is so much more to do. we have to figure out how to calm the traffic. a lot of cars, speeding through and make it unsafe for pedestrians. sidewalks are not very convenient for people. it takes a lot of money to do that, but it is really about being vigilant and looking at the fund the come through the transportation authority. we have been extendi

. >> we purport to be a transit first city but have a long ways to go before muni is on time. before folks can catch a cab when needed and before pedestrians and cyclists are safe. >> hs skpu. others won this two-mile race in about 10 minutes, taxies came in second, follow bid drivers of cars and then, muni. those on foot came in last. >> and a russian pole vaulter's equipment malfunction is a top trending video on you tube. take a look at what happened. >> there he goes. the fall carried him into the pit. >> luckily is right. more than a million viewers have seen him attempting a vault of 18 feet, nine inches. the pole just snapped in two. and fortunately he fell on the padding. otherwise this would not have been and a former san francisco giants employee is accused in a million dollar emkbrelzment case. >> taking a look at how she got a hold of the money. >> and first company to take advantage of san francisco's tax breaks to help revitalize a troubled neighborhood. >> and i'm showing you a deep marine layer keeping us in below normal tomorrow. but then... expect a big warm

ago made a very important policy statement, and that was declaring san francisco to be a transit first policy city. that does not mean about transit only. the policy is about getting people out of their cars, providing better, safer, more convenient, safer ways for people to get around san francisco, which includes by bicycle and walking. if we want to get people on their bicycles and walking, they need to be safe, and that is what this initiative is about. carter realizing that policy takes a lot of work from folks not only within the mta and our partner agencies and the school district, but people outside the government. there are some very strong advocacy organizations and organizations that help educate, that helped inform policy, that help shape the public debate about this. i want to acknowledge the san francisco bicycle coalition, a great partner with us. to close out here, from walk sf , elizabeth. [applause] >> thank you. what walk san francisco has been working on this campaign to get 15 mile an hour safer speed zones around schools for a long time. we are so excited it is coming to frui

in keeping with the transit first policy of the city, which i think is really for were thinking, we also want people to be able to feel comfortable if they want to bike where they want to go. if people want to what to get to where they want to go. in order for those things do happen, the streets and sidewalks need to be inviting and welcoming, and we want people to use those modes, because it is good for the city, it is good for the climate and environment. is good for the health of the people who are biking and walking. it went all around. when you cannot take muni or bike or walk, people should be able to hail a cab and get one. or call a cab and get one. people should be able to access upcard to share. to get where they are going. ultimately, for those of you who have won, if you want to jump into a car, that should be reasonable and available alternative as well. i have every belief that that vision -- and i think that is really what the voters in vision back in 1999. i think that is achievable. i think we can have a world- class transportation in our world-class city. the reason i t

in keeping with the transit first policy of the city, which i think is really for were thinking, we also want people to be able to feel comfortable if they want to bike where they want to go. if people want to what to get to where they want to go. in order for those things do happen, the streets and sidewalks need to be inviting and welcoming, and we want people to use those modes, because it is good for the city, it is good for the climate and environment. is good for the health of the people who are biking and walking. it went all around.

hurricane irene veering squarely for new york city forcing the shutdown of its transit system. firstme mandatory evacuations in new york city. something new york has never seen before. bureau chief of the "new york daily news" joins us on the phone. aaron tell me the extent of this evacuation in new york. -- >> i don't know how serious they are taking it yet. 230,000 new yorkers who have been ordered to leave home, mandatory. the city isn't necessarily enforcing it to the extent they don't have the manpower to go door-to-door and make people leave many they are stressing, very, very seriously, significantly, you got that go. your life is in danger if you don't leave. >> greta: we are not talking the whole island of manhattan, just a portion where the evacuation order is issued for? >> evacuation applies to a bunch of areas that are along the coastline, along the rivers, including the very bottom of lower manhattan, parts of brooklyn, queens. parts of staten island. significant parts of the city, mostly along the water. >> greta: as we look at the model you see it is headed for new yo

. >> at noon, mayor bloomberg ordered the city's entire transit system halted. the first system wide shutdown in its history and the impact is staggering. a 24/7 operation. thousands of buses, 840 miles of rail out of service leaving half the city, four million new yorkers without cars, essentially stranded. evacuation orders forced 370,000 to find shelter elsewhere. >> it's going to be pretty bad. >> pretty bad sums up travel at new york's three mamg juror airports. nearly a thousand flights grounded. this north carolina woman's cruise to canada is over. the saga to get back home has only begun. >> ooer going to have no choice. we have to stay here until monday morning. we got tickets out on monday morning. hopefully, we'll still have jobs and then go back. >> the waters of new york harbor just off our camera position here. starting to get a little bit restless. a lot of the folks have been evacuated. hunkering down with family and friends, others have fwon to shelters. we saw a pretty good size line to get in one of those today. >> ron mott thanks for your report being.

standpoint, the plant sixth to realize the vision of a transit tower on mission street and first street as the tallest part of the skyline, the cap of the city's downtown, reinforcing this notion with mission center and the transit center, extending the downtown to ring, hill -- rincon hill on the south. the transit center is the heart of that downtown and should be manifested on the skyline and in terms of land use and densities. in addition to creating this new crown on the skyline, in order to transition the skyline from the current prevailing height of 500 feet to 600 feet, the would be a small consolation of buildings that rise above the 500 foot level to transition the skyline around the transit tower down to the adjacent district of the downtown. these proposals are strategic. there is not a sweeping proposal to raise all height limits in the area. we carefully looked at key opportunities. there were a limited number of remaining intentional development sites in the area around the transit center and in downtown at large. you can see on the design maps the height tapering from 1,000 feet at the transit to our down to 850, 750, and 700 f

know she said and if you look in determine the time of the five minutes in the major cities of the world. the first transit in moscow was located on troop night school at the douglas dispense the ministry several of the fountains of them built along the lake lanier a river up the street because that's the most the fountains and most are ones provided drinking water to muscovites and now timothy decorate many of the city squares to cox the frosty fountain here is the only one remaining of those built before the revolution or machine built in the eighteen thirty five it still puts the regional like agent in seriousness with us last meeting but the idea. i think some of the think this is just interesting our formation of town sense has changed over the centuries before the revolution fountains in mosco were generally not used but they were necessity something like today's petrol stations at the time because during thirty five just down a reconstruction plan to rebuild the city to make it an impressive many new fountains along the way to streets and alleys were constructed if you want to forget. the eight hund

they started the shut down of the new york city transit system. that is the first time they have done it because of a gnarl disast are. they have stopped taking incoming flights in new york city. and beginning to feel the raindrops. >> the history of the city. >> nothing shuts downut city and sursurprising. >> eight hours to move the subway trains to a safey location and if you are getting out do it now. a tornado warning was put in affect in virginia. the department of transportation closing one of the main midtown flooding. governor mcdonalds who is calling on itgood afternoon for you. >> yeah, thank you for having me on. >> i know you are busy. what do your people need to know in your state? >> the worst of the storm is still to come and even though it is down gladed to 85 percent category 1. it is a dangerous storm. and all of the other dictions are in place. we have 158,000 people without power. we expect many more to come. stay off of the roads and we have major bridge tunnels are now closed and thea need to stay inside. >> you ordered an evacuation. 200,000

in any minutes the city will stop all subway and bus service, and this will be the first time the city has shut down the transitbecause of a natural disaster. even on 9/11, the trains ran several hours later. the city has opened 91 evacuation centers full of temporary cots and volunteers ready to help. >> they will be afraid. they'll all be upset. and so lot to deal with but doing the best we can. >> new york city mayor bloomberg has ordered mandatory evacuations in the low-lying airs in new york. and even though irene has not reached the northeast yet, hundreds of people are already showing up at an evacuation center in new jersey. parents carrying babies, seniors and walkers and canes slowly shuffled into a shelter at a college. they did receive some much appreciated comfort food. >> couple days, as long as it lasts, and prayers. >> a thousand people are expected at this one shelter in new jersey. some of the volunteers are survivors of hurricane katrina. >>> although the bay area's and,000 hiles from irene, we're still falling the fallout. dozens of flights are cancel. alis rasmus it talking to travelers wit

city halls in the country. and then you have septa which is right here. all mass transit in the city shut down. >> yes, it was shut down for the first time in history yesterday. we took that precaution because of the rain, because of the winds, because of flooding. septa will do its analysis and see when it is both safe to operate the system and quite frankly safe for people to be out trying to utilize the system. that's a judgment call. >> we have to run. what about the airport? >> the airport is still closed. planned to be closed at least until 4:00. very difficult for any kind of travel, whether you're out of philadelphia or getting to philadelphia up and down the east coast. being cautious there. >> stay inside, stay home and stay safe, anderson. that's the message everyone has been carrying throughout the east coast. back to you. >> no doubt about that. thanks. we'll continue to check in with you. let's check in with affiliate wcbs who's driving around in brooklyn, see what the scene is there. >> doing everything that residents can expect and even more. we'll get by this. we will get by this. >> there are some gutsy calls involved here. when you start t

. >> reporter: for the first time ever, new york city's mayor ordered a mandatory evacuation of residents in low-lying areas. the entire mass transit system will also shut down today. >> if that's what the city needs to do, then i mean, safety first. >> reporter: airlines aren't taking any chances either. more than 6000 flights have been canceled through monday, when irene should finally be heading out to sea. now, as we come back live to you, you can see the winds are really starting to pick up here on kill devil hills. the rain also is starting to come down harder and harder. that's one of the things that they are very concerned about here, anne, the storm surge and the rain causing a lot of flooding down here in north carolina. >> drew, i don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, i'm wondering about the people who decided to ignore the evacuation orders and are staying, and of course yourself and your crew. if you are staying, how do you brave this storm? >> reporter: well, first of all, for the people who decided to stay down, they are hunkered down here. we have seen very few people out today, and that is a good thing. th

city area will be closed as of noon saturday. and for the first time in history low lying neighborhood in new york city are being ordered evacuated. mass transit will be down at noon tomorrow first time the subway there has closed because of the weather ever. storm could impact 65 million people from north carolina all the way up to new england. so far at least 2.3 million people are under evacuation orders. >>> we have new images tonight to display. powerful impact of irene. this video released today of a big wave that pound add group of people watching the hurricane yesterday from a jetty in boynton beach, florida. immanuel how frightened they were. just as soon as that wave hit a second one followed as you can see here. 8 people were injured. the waves hit so hard several people suffered broken bones and one person was even left unconscious. >> all right spencer christian is tracking the storm very closely. spencer what is the latest on the path. >> well still same path as early moving almost due northward right now and still off the coast. category 2 hurricane. as you mention it has weakened a bit. maximum sustained winds 100 miles per hou

and the city's mass transit system and airport also, for the first time ever, all shut down at noon tomorrow. as irene pushes into places unfamiliar with the power of a hurricane. >> i feel nervous. i feel like i don't know what's going on. i don't know what's going to happen. >> reporter: a fear that stretches from the outer banks through new england. as irene closes in. but the first hit will come here along the outer banks. irene delivering hurricane conditions tonight. landfall early tomorrow morning. that's the latest from kill devil hills, north carolina. i'm jay gray. jessica, back to you. >> it looks bad out there already, given the hurricane is going to make landfall in the morning. is it too late for people who haven't evacuated to get out and what can they expect if they haven't left? >> it is too late. that window of opportunities that shut at this point and they will be on their own until the storm passes. what they can expect is much more intense winds, a lot more rain. rain for perhaps 10 to 12 hours. that will produce a lot of flooding in this area. the wind could cause power

and public transit inside new york city is scheduled to stop service at noon tomorrow. and this is the first time that the transit system has been shut down because of weather. broadway will also shut down. all plays on saturday and sunday night will go dark. we have live team coverage tonight. our meteorologist is tracking the hurricane. nbc's jay gray is braving the conditions in north carolina for us. we'll get to him in a morning. we begin with nbc bay area live at sfo with passengers already feeling the impact. already getting tough to get out tonight, isn't it? >> reporter: more than a dozen flights from the east coast to sfo have been canceled because of hurricane irene. airport officials say it's only going to get worse this weekend. hurricane irene may be thousands of miles away, but she is already packing a powerful punch at san francisco international airport. >> so pretty scary. we'll see what happens. >> reporter: scared passengers try to touch ground before the hurricane does. >> my daughter just had a baby so i'm hoping i'll get to see the baby over the weekend. >> reporter: a

city. glad you are with us, everybody. >> i'm ainsley earhardt. for the first time in history, a total mass transit shutdown for the city of new york. mayor michael bloomberg has a message for new yorkers -- if you are planning on evacuating now, he says, too bad. >> time for evacuation is over. everyone should now go inside and be prepared to stay inside until weather conditions improve, which won't likely be until sunday afternoon. but we will get to this next 24 hours, i assure you. the city has taken exhaustive steps to prepare for whatever comes our way. >> new york has shut down the transit system. philly has shut down the transit system. boston is doing that as of 8:00 this morning. the winds are about 80 miles per hour. the rain already causing major flooding in some parts where the ground was already drenched because there has been so much rain in the northeast over the last couple of weeks. and we have gotten word of tornadoes in three states up in new england. maria molina is riding out the storm with us and she is here to break it down at the fox news extreme weather center. >> we have

city officials are already warning it may shut down the city's entire mass transit system for the firsttime, bringing this city to a virtual halt. and storm preparations are underway at the world trade center site as well. port authority officials saying they are securing all cranes and other construction equipment ahead of the powerful winds. just picture this in new york, you walk along the streets here, all of these high-rise apartment buildings have window air-conditioning units sticking out of them. how are the people who are out and about going to protect themselves? just so many concerns when a storm this size hits a city like this that isn't really built for i. this is not florida. we don't expect big hurricanes coming through manhattan. across the hudson in if new jersey nearly half of the state is under a hurricane warning right now. mandatory evacuations are underway for parts of the jersey shore including atlantic city on places like long beach island, they're not even allowing people on the island anymore. you can't get on if you want to. in atlantic city, the casinos are b

transit is shut down. this is the first time that subways have been shut down due to weather in new york city history.70 miles per hour winds is not sounding serious for those in the south, it is for new york. we should mentio the five burroughs including coney island and battery park city and rockaways and the queens, they are under mandatory evacuation . the bridges are a concern. manhattan is an island. in order to get to manhattan and out. you have to travel over a bridge or through a tunnel. bridges will shut down if the winds get to 60 miles per hour or over. think about air travel. five major airports and the three biggest is newark in new jersey and jfk international in new york where rick wright said may be where the city hurricane touches down and then la guardia airport.

as you well know, mass transit shut down in new york city. the firstappened as a result of a natural disaster. let's find out where irene is now. nbc meteorologist bill ckareinss in the weather center. people are wanting some updates on vermont and new hampshire. >> the storm will move quickly through northern new england over the next six hours, but not quickly enough. some very strong wording up there about flash flooding. they are very concerned about the amount of water coming down and how quickly it accumulates. they had a wet spring, and now this on top of wet soil is not good. we still have -- i don't want to ignore the fact because it's not a hurricane anymore, we have tropical storm warnings, that's a big deal that cover the entire state of maine, new mexico, all of connecticut, massachusetts and down to new jersey, much of the hudson river valley what a tropical storm warning means you still have a chance of getting wind gusts been 39 and 74 miles per hour. that's significant. the green shows you where the heavy rain is. we'll focus on that f