0:00:02 > 0:00:04We are in Hunts Point in the Bronx,
0:00:04 > 0:00:06which is just north of Manhattan,
0:00:06 > 0:00:09and this cavernous place is the New Fulton Fish Market.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11It's about nine o'clock in the evening,
0:00:11 > 0:00:13but this place is just coming to life,
0:00:13 > 0:00:17and we will be here for the duration, from dusk till dawn.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22We've got privileged access
0:00:22 > 0:00:26to some of New York's most iconic locations...
0:00:28 > 0:00:31..revealing the hidden systems and armies of people
0:00:31 > 0:00:33that keep this city working.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38This is a place under pressure.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44The population's hit 8.5 million.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Transport, food supply and housing are struggling to keep up.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55Tonight, how do you feed a city that grows almost none of its own food?
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Journalist Ade Adepitan discovers the astonishing technology
0:01:01 > 0:01:04behind the Big Apple's favourite fruit.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07So, the apples stay fresh for a year?
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Yep. They're as fresh as you put them in.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12I'm looking for a different buzz in the city.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14How much honey comes out of one of these hives?
0:01:14 > 0:01:18Probably get about 40 kilos out of each hive each year.
0:01:18 > 0:01:19Wow.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26Engineer Ant Anstead takes a look at a new food transport route.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29It's only when you stand under here
0:01:29 > 0:01:32you realise how massive the whole project is.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38And historian Dan Snow joins us to explore the city's dirty past.
0:01:40 > 0:01:46Beneath my feet now is 53 years' worth of New Yorkers' rubbish.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Welcome to New York!
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Hunts Point is one of the world's largest food distribution centres -
0:02:17 > 0:02:22329 acres of warehouses that supply the hotels,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25restaurants and supermarkets of New York.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31It's positioned 13 miles north of Lower Manhattan.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34There are three massive wholesale markets here,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37selling meat, fruit and veg, and fish.
0:02:38 > 0:02:44The fish market sells over 1 billion worth of seafood a year,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and it's our base tonight.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49You know what, Anita? You're really lucky cos I'm at fish height,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51so I'm getting the full pongy-ness of this market.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55But you're right, this is a seriously impressive place
0:02:55 > 0:02:58because about half of all New York's food comes from this area,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02which works out to about 3 million tonnes a year.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05It's flown in and it's trucked in from all over the US
0:03:05 > 0:03:09and 50 countries worldwide. Now, you know Ant loves his motors?
0:03:09 > 0:03:13- Yep.- Well, he's in one of those big American trucks, full of fresh fish,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15and he's heading our way right now.
0:03:19 > 0:03:20It's 9pm.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Now, it might be the end of the working day for most people,
0:03:25 > 0:03:26but things are just starting here.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31Across the water, in Manhattan, people are at bars and restaurants,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34and they're generally winding down, but it's all gearing up here,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38and that's because they know it's their job to make sure
0:03:38 > 0:03:40all of those places have enough food for tomorrow.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Between now and 6am,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46this place is going to get ram-jammed full of fresh fish -
0:03:46 > 0:03:49it'll all be sold and then it'll be empty again.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Just out here, some of the first trucks have already arrived,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57and we're expecting about 55 trucks tonight, and the largest
0:03:57 > 0:04:01of those trucks should have about 13 tonnes of fresh fish in it.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06In total, an astonishing 7,500 trucks are on the move,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08all around New York, bringing in food,
0:04:08 > 0:04:13and that's because the city grows almost none of what it needs.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Now, the three of us went to find out
0:04:15 > 0:04:17where some of the city's best food is produced.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24New York is America's hungriest city.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Most of its fresh produce is funnelled in through Hunts Point.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35We're tracing the journey that three of New York's favourite foods
0:04:35 > 0:04:36take to get here.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41I'm 90 miles north of Hunts Point
0:04:41 > 0:04:42in the Hudson River Valley,
0:04:42 > 0:04:47where 154,000 tonnes of apples are grown each year.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52This is really, really beautiful.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55All these trees blossoming.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58This is not what I'd expect of New York State.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04The cows that provide some of New York's most upmarket steakhouses
0:05:04 > 0:05:10with their meat start their lives in the grasslands of Pennsylvania.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13It's quite flat. I can see lots of farms dotted around.
0:05:16 > 0:05:2060% of the fresh fish sold at Hunts Point is pulled from
0:05:20 > 0:05:25the Atlantic coast. I'm at the very end of Long Island, in Montauk.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Out there, that's the Atlantic Ocean.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29That's where the fishing boats are going to come in,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32hopefully, full of fish. Right over that way, New York City.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35But here, it's more calm. The problem with fishing is
0:05:35 > 0:05:36there's no real schedule -
0:05:36 > 0:05:39you've got to go out, wait till you've caught enough
0:05:39 > 0:05:42and bring it home, so that means I could be waiting a long time.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47No such problem in the fertile Hudson River Valley,
0:05:47 > 0:05:52where 147 growers have orchards in bloom.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57Alisha Albinder's family have farmed here since 1963.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59- Hey, how you doing? - How are you?
0:05:59 > 0:06:02How big is this place, Alisha?
0:06:02 > 0:06:05In the Hudson Valley, we have about 100 acres of apple farms.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07What does that equate to in terms of numbers?
0:06:07 > 0:06:11On a yearly basis, we sell over 200 million apples, individually.
0:06:11 > 0:06:12Oh, wow!
0:06:15 > 0:06:18These trees won't produce apples until the autumn...
0:06:19 > 0:06:22..but there's a hi-tech way to ensure year-round supply
0:06:22 > 0:06:25for the markets of New York.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27So, this is our storage facilities -
0:06:27 > 0:06:29we have ten of these in our building,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31and this is where all the apples are kept.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34They can be stored here for up to a year in a controlled atmosphere,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37so that means that we keep the rooms at one degrees and we drop
0:06:37 > 0:06:39the oxygen level to below 2%.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41So, the apples stay fresh for a year?
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Yep. They're as fresh as you put them in,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46so you can close the room down and, when you open it up months later,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49you take the apples out and they're as good as new.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52Cattle farming also requires some forward planning,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56with a minimum two-year lead time before a cow becomes a steak.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02I'm meeting third-generation farmer Dwight Hess.
0:07:02 > 0:07:03- Hello, Dwight.- Hey, welcome.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Thank you. Good to see you.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09- Let me show you around.- Yeah, I'd love to see some of your cattle.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13US beef is graded into one of four main categories -
0:07:13 > 0:07:17standard, select, choice, and prime.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22Prime has a fuller flavour due to its greater distribution of fat.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25It's this quality that the steakhouses of New York
0:07:25 > 0:07:27want on their plates.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30- What type of cattle have you got here?- Predominantly Angus breed.
0:07:30 > 0:07:3590% of our cattle grade choice-grade,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37which would be the grade under prime.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41The Angus breed is one of the easier breeds to get to grade prime.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44So, what's the cost of rearing one of these animals?
0:07:44 > 0:07:46A steer like this right here,
0:07:46 > 0:07:50this guy probably cost around 1,400 when I bought him.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55Our feed costs will be around 250 per head.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57That's 1,650.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00He will bring back about 1,750 a head,
0:08:00 > 0:08:06so I will have approximately 100 a head net profit on that steer.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09If I could do that year in and year out on every animal that I sell,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11I would be very satisfied.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17In Montauk, my wait is over.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Fisherman Dave Arapoc is heading back with his catch.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22- How's it going?- Hi, how are you?
0:08:22 > 0:08:26- Loads of fish?- Uh, a little bit of fish, a little bit.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Not a huge amount today, but a little bit.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- So, what are these? - Montauk sea bream, porgies.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- So, this is bream? - Bream, yeah.- Right.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Cor, it's heavy.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42Dave's also bringing in squid and flatfish.
0:08:42 > 0:08:43So this is pretty fresh, isn't it?
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Straight out the ocean, straight on ice.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47We just hauled the net back an hour ago,
0:08:47 > 0:08:49right up in the bay.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Um, we're going to the market tonight...
0:08:52 > 0:08:53Yep.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56..and very possibly, at lunchtime tomorrow,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59somebody could be eating these fish.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01That's incredible.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07My cattle are still 18 months away from landing on a plate,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10and they're fattening up on an unexpected diet -
0:09:10 > 0:09:14pasta, crisps and sweets.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17- You can smell it, that's chocolate. - Yeah.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Actually, we have to be careful we don't feed too much chocolate
0:09:20 > 0:09:24because too much chocolate in their diet can suppress their appetite,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26and that's the last thing we want to have happen,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30so each one of these ingredients needs to go into the ration
0:09:30 > 0:09:33in the right proportion for them to have a healthy diet,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35to gain as much weight as possible.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Once they've reached a target weight of just over half a tonne,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43these animals will be ready for slaughter,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46and from there, they'll head to the meat market at Hunts Point.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51In Montauk, the clock is ticking.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55The fish is deteriorating for every minute it's out the sea.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Dave needs to get his catch to market, and quickly.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01- What are these for, Dave? - That shows where it's going to in
0:10:01 > 0:10:05- Hunts Point market.- Right.- I staple it on the outside of the carton.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07My information is on the inside of the carton,
0:10:07 > 0:10:09so they can send me the cheque.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14At the apple farm, it's all rather more technical.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19We have a colour sorter here that takes about 35 pictures per second
0:10:19 > 0:10:21- of an apple.- What's that all about?
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Yeah, so, it's capturing every side of the apple
0:10:24 > 0:10:28and it's capturing the grain, any scabs, any defects,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31and it's sorting it out so that you can put the extra fancy packs
0:10:31 > 0:10:33together, the fancies, and then the cider.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36So, you're sorting them out in terms of quality.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Suppliers like Alisha,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Dwight and Dave have spent years getting their produce to this stage.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47We're loading up 31 boxes of fish...
0:10:48 > 0:10:51..and 179 boxes of apples.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Now it's down to the wholesalers at Hunts Point
0:10:56 > 0:10:58to get the best possible price.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06It's 11 o'clock and we're awaiting the arrival of Ant
0:11:06 > 0:11:08with his fish haul from Montauk,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10but he won't be able to get into the market.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13In fact, no-one can get in without passing through the tollbooth
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and dealing with this lady.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18- Hey there.- Hello. - So, how much does it cost
0:11:18 > 0:11:21for someone to get in and off-load their stock?
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Well, if they're in a tractor trailer, it's 25.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27If they're in a box truck, it's ten.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29If they're in a car or a van, it's 6.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33- So, what does all that money go towards?- Well, it goes to parking,
0:11:33 > 0:11:38unloading the stuff, you know, general maintenance of the market.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40What are your hours here in the booth?
0:11:40 > 0:11:43I work from 11pm to 7.30am.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46- Eight hours...- Yes. - ..in here, on your own.
0:11:46 > 0:11:47- Yes.- How do you keep yourself entertained?
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Well, I talk to my neighbour.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51How do you talk to her? Do you just shout?
0:11:51 > 0:11:52We shout during the summer.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56During the winter, we use our private walkie-talkies.
0:11:56 > 0:11:57Cos it must get very cold in here.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Yes, the chill from the water makes it very cold down here.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02You've got a little heater under there.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Yeah, we have a heater/AC, so we don't get hypothermia.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Wonderful. Do you know what?
0:12:08 > 0:12:11I think I can hear Ant's truck arriving.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14- Make sure you count all his money. - All right, I will.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15Hello, Ant.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18SHE LAUGHS
0:12:18 > 0:12:20How are you?
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Here you go. Have a good day.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30That's it. He's paid up, but his work's not quite done.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33He needs to now get in there, unload all the fish,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35and get it into the market.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Well, we made it, but like any commercial business, there's always
0:12:49 > 0:12:52a piece of paper, and in this case, it's called a bill of lading.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56This details exactly what's on our lorry, and it tells me that
0:12:56 > 0:13:00there's 31 boxes of fish - that's made up of dogfish,
0:13:00 > 0:13:04bream - porgy as they're known locally - squid, flatfish,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08and it's going to five different traders within the market.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10This'll make it easier getting it off the lorry.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Somewhere in the middle of this unloading chaos
0:13:15 > 0:13:17is the manager, George Valdez.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19- George, how you doing? Ant. - Nice to meet you.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22- There's loads going on. - Organised chaos.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Is it? So, how long is it going to take to get the stuff off our lorry?
0:13:25 > 0:13:26We're going to start it right now
0:13:26 > 0:13:29and a load like this should be done within half an hour.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31- And, of course, time is of the essence.- Absolutely.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33- Does it get any busier? - The longer you're around,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35you're going to see fish everywhere.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38Right, and your guys know exactly where every load's going to go.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42They know with paperwork and with guidance from our supervisors.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45So, George, tonight, how much total fish are you going to unload?
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Up to 1.2 million pounds of fish.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50- That's a lot of fish. - That's a lot of fish.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53So, what happens when the public start coming to buy the fish?
0:13:53 > 0:13:56People start screaming for their fish a lot more.
0:13:56 > 0:13:57And if it's not off the lorry?
0:13:57 > 0:13:59- They're upset. - They're screaming at you?
0:13:59 > 0:14:02- The last guy holding the ball, right.- Fish is money.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05- Fish is money, that's exactly right. - George, lovely to meet you, man.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08- Nice meeting you. - Take care.- Take care.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10My load's an easy one for George.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15It's only going to five of the 27 different fish merchants
0:14:15 > 0:14:17vying for trade here.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23This market is 430,000 square feet,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26which is about the size of five football pitches,
0:14:26 > 0:14:28and on a busy night like tonight,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31there's up to 650 people working here.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34But this whole place, this enormous food distribution zone,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37didn't start out here in the Bronx.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Back in the day, food used to come in and out of New York by sea.
0:14:45 > 0:14:46In the 19th century,
0:14:46 > 0:14:50New York's three main food markets were situated in Lower Manhattan.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Washington Market on the Lower West Side
0:14:54 > 0:14:58was the largest fruit and produce exchange in the USA.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04The Gansevoort farmers' market was the centre of the meat trade.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Slaughterhouses and packing factories clustered
0:15:07 > 0:15:10in the so-called Meatpacking District.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13And the fish market sat on Fulton Street,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16down by the Lower East Side docks.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21The markets thrived for more than a century, feeding a population
0:15:21 > 0:15:25that ballooned from just over a million in 1860...
0:15:26 > 0:15:29..to nearly 8 million by 1960.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34By then, the city had changed beyond all recognition.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38The logistics of getting produce in and out of Lower Manhattan
0:15:38 > 0:15:43was far from easy, and the boom in real estate values meant that
0:15:43 > 0:15:48the sprawling markets were now perched on premium-priced land.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53In 1967, the city evicted Washington Market from its site
0:15:53 > 0:15:55and built the World Trade Center on top of it.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02The fruit and veg traders relocated 13 miles north to Hunts Point.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Cheaper land and better road connections
0:16:05 > 0:16:09to the rest of the country made financial and practical sense.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Many of the meat sellers followed in 1972,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17but the fish market clung on defiantly.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21It was an infamous and colourful part of New York life,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24as Alan Whicker reported in 1985.
0:16:25 > 0:16:26I mean, it's still Marlon Brando,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29On The Waterfront down here, isn't it?
0:16:29 > 0:16:31- Yes, it still is.- They're pretty tough cookies, aren't they?
0:16:31 > 0:16:35They are tough, yeah. In fact, there was a nasty murder here last night,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38which... Someone was stealing some fish and he was shot to death.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46After 180 lively years, the market closed down.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51In 2005, the traders packed up and left their historic home
0:16:51 > 0:16:54to join the others at Hunts Point.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06One trader who left the old market
0:17:06 > 0:17:08and moved here to Hunts Point is Mitch Slavin.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11- Good morning, Mitch. - Morning. How are you?- I'm great.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14What are your memories of the old market?
0:17:14 > 0:17:16The old market had some flavour.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18I mean, it was quite different than this.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20This is like a hospital compared to that.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25That was cobblestone streets and the Brooklyn Bridge in the background
0:17:25 > 0:17:28and barrels of wood burning through the night
0:17:28 > 0:17:30and the smell of the fish and the wood...
0:17:30 > 0:17:31That sounds really evocative.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34And I'm sure full of characters, as it is now.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36I think the characters are all still here,
0:17:36 > 0:17:37just maybe the venue's changed.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40How long has this business been in your family?
0:17:40 > 0:17:42Almost 90 years.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46My grandfather and my grandmother came here from Russia,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49penniless, as immigrants.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53They started a little pushcart in Brooklyn,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56peddling fish for pennies.
0:17:56 > 0:17:57For pennies.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00And your dad then inevitably went into the business?
0:18:00 > 0:18:02Was it expected of him to do the same thing?
0:18:02 > 0:18:07My dad built this company into a multi-million dollar company,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10- well over 100 million.- Incredible.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Have things changed much in terms of the people that come and buy fish?
0:18:13 > 0:18:19It used to be, in the old days, very Italian, very Jewish,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22and then it morphed into more Chinese,
0:18:22 > 0:18:24and now it's very Korean-oriented.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28They all come to America looking for the American Dream and,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31you know, the food business is the place to find it.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Mitch, it's been really interesting talking to you. Thank you.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36My pleasure. Nice talking to you.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37Yeah. Warm hands.
0:18:40 > 0:18:4212.30am.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46All around us, salesmen are unpacking their boxes
0:18:46 > 0:18:48and setting up their stalls.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50It's a nervy time.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53They have no idea if they'll shift this stock tonight.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00Some merchants are lucky enough to have pre-orders in place.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02I'm heading into the back room of one seller who offers
0:19:02 > 0:19:05a very special service for his clients.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10Most of the fish in the market is sold whole, but some of it's cut
0:19:10 > 0:19:13into fillets, or filets, as the Yanks like to call it,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16and that operation is carried out by this man, Anthony Grippa.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19- Hey, man, how are you? - Hello, Ant, how are you?- Good.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20So, why do you cut them up?
0:19:20 > 0:19:23We're cutting our fish for preparation for delivery
0:19:23 > 0:19:24to restaurants in Manhattan.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26So, why do they get you to do it?
0:19:26 > 0:19:30Because we do it very well, we do it very quickly, and most restaurants
0:19:30 > 0:19:33don't want to have this mess in their kitchen.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35So, you must be rattling out fish quite quickly.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37I mean, how long's that going to take?
0:19:37 > 0:19:38This isn't a particularly big one,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41but this is going to take a man a few seconds.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43- A few seconds?- A few seconds.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Wow. Time is money, yeah?
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Time is definitely money.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50So, how much fish will the guys get through tonight?
0:19:50 > 0:19:52These guys will cut about 4,000 pounds of fish tonight.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55- That's a shade under two tonnes. - Yeah, it's pretty massive.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58It's a major accomplishment for these guys.
0:19:58 > 0:19:59We're feeding the city here.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01- Well, I better let you get on with it.- OK.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03- Thank you.- Nice to see you again. - See you later.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11Outside, trucks are still coming in thick and fast.
0:20:11 > 0:20:1495% of New York's food travels by road,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17putting enormous strain on its transport arteries.
0:20:20 > 0:20:2425 miles north of the market is the Tappan Zee Bridge.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30It's three miles long and carries Interstates 287 and 87
0:20:30 > 0:20:32over the Hudson River.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35It's one of the key freight routes to the market.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42Every day, it handles an average of 140,000 vehicles.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47Problem is it was designed to carry only 100,000.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48Come on, let me out.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55Opened in 1955, it was a masterpiece of civil engineering,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59but one that was planned to last just 50 years,
0:20:59 > 0:21:00and, boy, does it show.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03The road is rough, there's potholes everywhere.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Now, they've managed to cram four lanes into this side of the bridge.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10No hard shoulder - if there's a breakdown, the whole bridge
0:21:10 > 0:21:13is going to grind to a halt. And, the problem is,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15they regularly have breakdowns.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20As a result, the bridge has twice the average accident rate
0:21:20 > 0:21:23as the rest of New York State's motorway system.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27I love that rigid steel industrial design,
0:21:27 > 0:21:29but it definitely needs replacing.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32Which is why, right next to it,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35they're building the new New York Bridge.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42To get a closer look at this 4 billion mega-structure,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45I'm heading out on the water with chief engineer Jamie Barbas.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54It's only when you stand under here,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57- you realise how massive the whole project is.- That's right.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00You don't really appreciate the scale until you get up close.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02It is brilliant.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04When it's completed in 2018,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07this will be one of the widest bridges in the world,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09carrying eight lanes of traffic.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16The machinery constructing it is also on an epic scale.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20The skeleton of the bridge is made of steel girders
0:22:20 > 0:22:21weighing up to 1,000 tonnes.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Hoisting them into place is one of the world's largest cranes,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29the Left Coast Lifter.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31So, that lifts all these massive RSJs,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34- these big steel structures, into place?- It does.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Actually, they're assembled, put on a barge and lifted in place,
0:22:38 > 0:22:39span by span.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42And that's the beauty of having a crane like that
0:22:42 > 0:22:44is that all this stuff can be done on dry land,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47in a secure place where it's nice and safe,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50brought out by boats and placed into position.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55This huge crane was towed here from San Francisco.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59It took two months and cost 70,000 in tolls
0:22:59 > 0:23:01to get it through the Panama Canal.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04What is that capable of lifting?
0:23:04 > 0:23:07- About 12 Statues Of Liberty. - So, thousands of tonnes?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10That's right, a couple of thousand tonnes.
0:23:10 > 0:23:11God, it is monumental.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Most days, around 900 people work on the bridge,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21but today, thanks to the British weather I've brought with me,
0:23:21 > 0:23:22most of the site is closed.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27However, they're still working on the colossal towers
0:23:27 > 0:23:29that will support the roadway.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31This here, this looks like a concrete plant.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Actually, it is. It's our concrete batch plant where we make
0:23:35 > 0:23:38a lot of our concrete onsite, on this barge.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40So, they're pouring it right now?
0:23:40 > 0:23:43That's right, it's being pumped up that blue pipe and they're pouring
0:23:43 > 0:23:45the concrete for that massive crossbeam that connects
0:23:45 > 0:23:48- the two legs of this tower. - That's incredible.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52And you can see each slab of the tower is made a bit at a time.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54- Yes.- It's like massive-scale Lego.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56It is, it is, but has to be very well thought out.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02The new bridge will open to traffic in two years' time,
0:24:02 > 0:24:06and then the old one will be dismantled and much of it recycled.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Tappan Zee's replacement should provide an efficient
0:24:11 > 0:24:15transport artery, keeping fresh food flowing into New York
0:24:15 > 0:24:17for the next 100 years.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28It's 2am, and customers are arriving.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39It's a high-pressure time for sellers like Eddie Monani.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Fish only stays fresh for three days.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46He's got to shift his stock quickly or lose money.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48But Eddie has a safety net -
0:24:48 > 0:24:52dealing in frozen fish that keeps its value for much longer.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57So, Eddie, you're the main supplier of frozen food in the market,
0:24:57 > 0:24:58and it comes from all over the world.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01You've got tilapia from, where's that, Taiwan?
0:25:01 > 0:25:02Every country you can think of.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Swai from Vietnam, pompano from China.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09- Some mussels from Chile. - Mussels from Chile.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Most of this product is frozen at sea.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13And what's the benefit of having frozen food?
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Frozen is more sustainable,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17it's less of a fluctuation in prices,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20so it's very easy to do business with it.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23I do get fresh fish from every place else, too.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25- What have you got? - Well, right here, we have porgies.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28- These are from Rhode Island. - So, these are porgies.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30- We call them bream, so, same fish. - That's right.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32And you've got a lot of, what is this, red snapper?
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Red snapper from all over the world - Guatemala, Panama.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Will everybody in here have red snapper or is it just you?
0:25:39 > 0:25:41If one of us has fish, red snapper,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43if the other guy sells red snapper, he'll have them too.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46And will he be selling it at the same price as you?
0:25:46 > 0:25:48- We have to go along with the next guy.- Yeah.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Within a nickel or a dime, we have to be in the same category,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54- or else the buyer will go someplace else.- Sure.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57What's your turnover weekly, in dollars?
0:25:57 > 0:26:01On an average week, I do approximately 100,000 pounds of fish
0:26:01 > 0:26:04worth between 300,000 and 400,000.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07That sounds like a lot of money. That IS a lot of money!
0:26:07 > 0:26:09It is, but fish prices are high, too.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Right. So, is business good right now?
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Uh, I can't complain. Used to be better,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18but big-box stores are now operating and they're taking a lot from us.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20- So, you mean the supermarkets? - Supermarkets...
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Now with the sophisticated refrigeration,
0:26:23 > 0:26:25they can keep fish, too.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27And also we all know how good it is for us.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Well, it's very good for us, and we're all not eating enough of it.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Says the guy who sells the stuff.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Well, says the guy... Yeah. I have to promote my business.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Seafood from this market is bought by everyone
0:26:38 > 0:26:41from high-end restaurants through to grocery stores.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46One of the ironies about food in New York is that this city
0:26:46 > 0:26:50grows hardly any of its own food and most people can't be bothered
0:26:50 > 0:26:53to cook because they work long hours
0:26:53 > 0:26:54and haven't got the time or the space.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58But despite all of that, New Yorkers are passionate about food,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02especially if they can get someone else to cook it for them.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07New York is undergoing a food revolution.
0:27:07 > 0:27:1060% of all meals consumed in the city
0:27:10 > 0:27:12are from restaurants or takeaways.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15- Four and five.- Thank you.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18And in the last six years,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22New Yorkers have embraced online ordering apps as the quickest way
0:27:22 > 0:27:24to get food to their door.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30There are 18 apps to choose from, but the biggest is Seamless...
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Thanks a lot, man. See you later.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37..which handles over 220,000 orders every day.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43It's 7pm on a Monday night...
0:27:43 > 0:27:45All right, guys, what do you want to eat?
0:27:45 > 0:27:46Johnny's Pizzas.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49..and this family have just arrived home
0:27:49 > 0:27:51to their brownstone in Brooklyn.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54All right, so, you want to order?
0:27:54 > 0:27:56You want to go to the computer and help me out?
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Like thousands of New Yorkers, they're ordering online.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01We usually order, like,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05anywhere between three or four times a week because of our schedules.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09I don't have time to cook, I come home very late with the kids,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12and they want food quite quickly.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Local delivery costs 1 on top of the price of the food,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18so it's an appealing option for busy families.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22- And...- Place the order. There it is.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25- PHONE BEEPS - You see? Now I got the confirmation.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29OK, we got an order.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31OK, it's one Grandma Pie for delivery.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37A few blocks away, Johnny's Pizzeria springs into action.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Thank you very much. So long.
0:28:40 > 0:28:41Slice is ready.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44Run by brothers John and Rocco...
0:28:44 > 0:28:46The cheese. The cheese is love.
0:28:46 > 0:28:51..Johnny's has been serving pizza for 50 years.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55This restaurant is one of 11,000 signed up with online apps,
0:28:55 > 0:29:00and adopting new technology is paying dividends.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02- Thank you.- You're welcome.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07In 2014, we did 10% in sales online.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10In 2015, we're up to 20% online,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14and now, in 2016, we're going to probably pass that,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16and in 2017, it'll probably triple.
0:29:18 > 0:29:2015 minutes after they ordered it,
0:29:20 > 0:29:23the family's pizza is ready for delivery.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30The average Seamless delivery time is 30 minutes,
0:29:30 > 0:29:34thanks to an army of delivery men and women working day and night.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41Most of them use bikes to courier the food,
0:29:41 > 0:29:45allowing them to navigate quickly through the tricky New York traffic.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Carlos Reyes is one of them.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51I live in Bronx, New York, and I work in Williamsburg
0:29:51 > 0:29:55because more people, more restaurants, more money to make.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02Employees are attached to an area rather than a specific restaurant.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07Carlos clocks in and out on his phone and is sent orders based on
0:30:07 > 0:30:12his GPS location, which he can choose to accept or decline.
0:30:12 > 0:30:17You get paid for delivery, plus tip, plus mileage.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20The most tips made in a night?
0:30:20 > 0:30:2280, I believe.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29The more deliveries he accepts, the more money he makes,
0:30:29 > 0:30:31and restaurants don't have the overheads
0:30:31 > 0:30:33of full-time delivery staff.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36How you doing, boss?
0:30:36 > 0:30:38- Hi. Thank you. Have a great night. - All right, you too.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43I got two minutes left of my shift. I'm about to clock out.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45It's time to go home, take a rest.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50Tonight, across the whole of New York,
0:30:50 > 0:30:53Seamless's delivery army collectively covered
0:30:53 > 0:30:57more than 350,000 miles.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01They delivered more than 180,000 chicken wings
0:31:01 > 0:31:06and 18,000 kilos of cheese for pizza toppings,
0:31:06 > 0:31:10including some eagerly anticipated by this family.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13- There you go, babe. - All right, looks good.- Here you go.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17Here you go.
0:31:17 > 0:31:18All righty?
0:31:18 > 0:31:21Ordering this is a blessing, in my case.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24- Mommy, can I have one more slice?- One more.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33It's 3am, the busiest time for the market.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38High-end buyers like Sandy Ingber from Grand Central's Oyster Bar
0:31:38 > 0:31:41are here to check out the quality of tonight's catch.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45Beautiful oyster. You have a very nice selection here today.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51On the floor, the sales are brisk,
0:31:51 > 0:31:53but the real business is hidden away.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58Although this is a really modern, efficient, purpose-built facility,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01some things are still done the old-fashioned way.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03When someone comes to the market and buys fish,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06it generates a handwritten receipt.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10Each time an order's placed, it goes to the office above the market.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15And this is Caitlin Clayton, who's one of the book-keepers here.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18- Hi.- Hi, pleasure to meet you.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20So, somebody comes to the stall,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22buys some fish and it generates this piece of paper.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24- Yes.- What does it mean?
0:32:24 > 0:32:28It shows you who the customer is, and we put the date of the sale,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31then it determines if they're a cash sale or a charge sale.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35We would check off the box, and it shows the items that they bought.
0:32:35 > 0:32:36So, who sets the price?
0:32:36 > 0:32:39It goes by all the other stands, how much fish comes in to the market.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43You could get 50,000 pounds of fish in and, you know,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46you're going to sell for less money because you want to move it out.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49So, if only 10,000 pounds come in,
0:32:49 > 0:32:51then you're going to make your number a little bit higher
0:32:51 > 0:32:54and you're going to try to get a stronger margin on it.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57OK, so, by way of example, the most expensive fish on this ticket,
0:32:57 > 0:32:58- red snapper...- Yes.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01- 7.75 a pound. - That's what it's doing tonight.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03What's the most you've ever known red snapper...?
0:33:03 > 0:33:06I've seen it between 9 and 10 a pound.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08- And the least? - The least - 3, 4 a pound.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11So, really, it kind of works like a fish stock exchange.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13That's exactly how I would describe it.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16- It varies throughout the night. - Yes, it can change hourly.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19You go around, you see what other people are selling for,
0:33:19 > 0:33:20your customers will show you tickets,
0:33:20 > 0:33:23they'll show you what they're paying or what they've heard,
0:33:23 > 0:33:25and that gives you an idea on how to sell also.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28I guess you're going to have customers checking all
0:33:28 > 0:33:30- the market stalls, trying to get the best price.- Yes.
0:33:30 > 0:33:31Do they play a bit of games with you?
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Oh, yes, they do. But that's part of the fun, you know...
0:33:34 > 0:33:38They'll come over, you tell them 7.75, they'll say, "Well, the guy
0:33:38 > 0:33:41"across the street's selling for 7.50, can you match it?"
0:33:41 > 0:33:43So, you do have a bit of haggling?
0:33:43 > 0:33:45Yeah. They definitely try to haggle.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47And how's tonight going?
0:33:47 > 0:33:49Tonight is going good so far.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51- Yeah?- Yeah, so far, so good.
0:33:53 > 0:33:58- We got mullets over here, 1.75. - Yeah.- We've got croakers,
0:33:58 > 0:33:59we've got skate wings.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03How's your skate wings, OK?
0:34:03 > 0:34:05- Yeah.- French restaurants buying them today?
0:34:05 > 0:34:07- 75 cents.- 75 cents.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13Now, they try and keep waste down to a minimum here, and these skeletons
0:34:13 > 0:34:17are going to be sold to restaurants as the basis of their fish stock.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21It's really important that they sell all the parts
0:34:21 > 0:34:23of the fish because any waste is a loss of profit,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26and this place is all about making money.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30Even so, the rubbish trucks last year collected
0:34:30 > 0:34:334,500 tonnes of rubbish.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37Now, we sent Dan to go and see what happens to all that waste
0:34:37 > 0:34:38once it's been collected.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46The city of New York collectively produces 9,500 tonnes
0:34:46 > 0:34:51of domestic rubbish and 1,600 tonnes of recyclables every day.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56That's more household waste than the whole of Scotland.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01And it's the job of the world's largest sanitation department
0:35:01 > 0:35:02to clear it up.
0:35:04 > 0:35:05Without these guys,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09New Yorkers would soon be drowning in their own trash.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16More than 7,000 sanitation workers scour the streets to rid New Yorkers
0:35:16 > 0:35:20of their rubbish. So, where does it all go?
0:35:20 > 0:35:25Well, if you're one of the 500,000 residents of Staten Island,
0:35:25 > 0:35:2812 miles south of Manhattan, it comes here...
0:35:30 > 0:35:33The Staten Island Waste Transfer Station.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37Up to 800 tonnes of Staten Islanders' rubbish
0:35:37 > 0:35:39arrives here to be processed
0:35:39 > 0:35:42and gathered up every single day.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49It's a massive operation, open 24 hours a day, six days a week.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53Chief Thomas Killeen is the man in charge.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55I bet it's brutal here after Christmas.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59After any holiday, barbecue season, spring-cleaning, you name it...
0:35:59 > 0:36:02We can tell which season it is just by looking at the garbage.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04So, what's going on over here behind us?
0:36:04 > 0:36:07What we do here is we process regular waste.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09Not recycling, just waste.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11We bring it to the top of the floor you see behind me.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14They'll dump it, throw it on the big conveyor belt,
0:36:14 > 0:36:17the conveyer belt throws it into a big hopper.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20In the hopper, we compact it.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22From there, we put it into the rail car,
0:36:22 > 0:36:23ship it off to the rail company.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26How many rail cars every day get out of here?
0:36:26 > 0:36:28We try to ship out one train a day
0:36:28 > 0:36:31and they usually hold about 98 containers.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34So, the Staten Island's garbage is one entire train -
0:36:34 > 0:36:39nearly 100 rail cars - heading out of here every day?
0:36:39 > 0:36:42At least five out of seven days, yes,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45and it goes to Bishopville, South Carolina, all by rail.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50The other boroughs send their rubbish to dumps in Pennsylvania,
0:36:50 > 0:36:53Virginia, and Upstate New York
0:36:53 > 0:36:56at a cost of 310 million a year.
0:36:57 > 0:37:02But New York's rubbish wasn't always sent so far afield.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06For more than 50 years, almost all of the city's trash landed
0:37:06 > 0:37:09just two miles down the road from here
0:37:09 > 0:37:12at the controversial Fresh Kills landfill,
0:37:12 > 0:37:14just metres away from local residents.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20Janice and her son Seth live 15 minutes away
0:37:20 > 0:37:23from the 2,200-acre landfill.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28Paint me a picture - what was it like when the dump was there?
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Smelly, very odorous.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33A putrid, kind of cloying smell.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Stuck to your skin, went in your mouth.
0:37:36 > 0:37:43There was a lot of trash that came loose in the windstorms etc,
0:37:43 > 0:37:47and plastic bags, on a bad day, lining the expressway,
0:37:47 > 0:37:49you know, caught in the gates.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53And a lot of scavenging gulls.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55- Gulls?- Just millions.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Nasty.
0:37:57 > 0:37:58The first barge of trash
0:37:58 > 0:38:02landed on the west side of Staten Island in 1948.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07By 1955, Fresh Kills had become the largest landfill in the world,
0:38:07 > 0:38:12at its peak collecting 26,000 tonnes of garbage per day.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17How did it make you feel, that you were like some dumping ground
0:38:17 > 0:38:19for the rest of your fellow citizens of New York?
0:38:19 > 0:38:21We did have people making fun of us, saying,
0:38:21 > 0:38:24"Oh, you're from Staten Island, don't you have, you know,
0:38:24 > 0:38:28"an extra finger caused by the landfill activity?"
0:38:28 > 0:38:32There was just a stigma of living on Staten Island.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35By the early '90s, they'd had enough.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39Staten Island threatened to separate from the five boroughs of New York
0:38:39 > 0:38:42and become an independent city in its own right
0:38:42 > 0:38:46unless something was done about Fresh Kills.
0:38:46 > 0:38:47We want a closure date.
0:38:49 > 0:38:54And if that means the city has to come up with emergency plans,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58spending a phenomenal amount of money for alternatives,
0:38:58 > 0:39:00then that really is what the city has to do.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02The protests worked.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05In 2001, the last barge of New York's trash
0:39:05 > 0:39:08sailed down the river to Fresh Kills,
0:39:08 > 0:39:10and the landfill was closed.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15This is Fresh Kills today.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18It feels so pristine and natural.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21It's a world away from the mountains of rubbish
0:39:21 > 0:39:25that would have surrounded me if I'd been here 15 years ago.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29It is hard to believe that beneath my feet now
0:39:29 > 0:39:33is 53 years' worth of New Yorkers' rubbish.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38Thanks to 50 million of city investment,
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Fresh Kills is undergoing an extraordinary transformation
0:39:41 > 0:39:44from landfill to parkland.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48With Eloise Hirsh at the helm,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52New York's Parks and Sanitation Departments are working together
0:39:52 > 0:39:55to give this place a new lease of life.
0:39:55 > 0:40:01How have you gone about turning a huge pile of junk
0:40:01 > 0:40:03into a beautiful park?
0:40:03 > 0:40:07There are a whole series of layers that go over all of
0:40:07 > 0:40:10the 150 million tonnes of decomposing trash.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13It's a complicated and highly engineered system.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16So, it's not like this grass is feeding off the garbage below?
0:40:16 > 0:40:19No, not in any way. No, this is totally sealed, no.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Take a cross section through the land, and you can see
0:40:23 > 0:40:26the ingenious engineering at work here.
0:40:26 > 0:40:27Directly on top of the waste,
0:40:27 > 0:40:32compacted soil helps maintain stability and drainage.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35Above that, a layer of composite material allows noxious gases,
0:40:35 > 0:40:37like methane caused by the waste,
0:40:37 > 0:40:44to escape via 640 wells and 175,000ft of pipeline.
0:40:45 > 0:40:50Next, an impermeable plastic liner stops water flowing down into
0:40:50 > 0:40:55the waste and ensures gases only escape out of the vents provided.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58Then there are two tiers of drainage management
0:40:58 > 0:41:00to prevent the land from slipping.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04And finally, it's topped off with a 6in layer of soil.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07It's transformed this site,
0:41:07 > 0:41:13providing 2,200 acres of new parkland for New Yorkers.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15What does the future hold for this park?
0:41:15 > 0:41:20Well, we're really anxious to have the place open,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24to let it welcome hundreds and hundreds and thousands and thousands
0:41:24 > 0:41:26of people. We really think...
0:41:26 > 0:41:28And let them look and say,
0:41:28 > 0:41:33"Wow, this was a landfill and now look at it."
0:41:33 > 0:41:37And have them maybe make the connection between sort of
0:41:37 > 0:41:41personal responsibility about what they're doing with waste
0:41:41 > 0:41:44and the impact it has on everybody else.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53It's beginning to get light and the premium buyers have left the market.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57The customers here now are all in search of a last-minute bargain.
0:41:59 > 0:42:04- What sizes you got?- 16, 20s here, and these are jumbo ones at 15.
0:42:04 > 0:42:05Right.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09I'm meeting a buyer who has a reputation for being
0:42:09 > 0:42:13one of the toughest negotiators in the market.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15- Hey.- How are you? - What is it you're looking for?
0:42:18 > 0:42:21- So, you're here to buy particularly this one, porgies?- Yes.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24So, who's your customer? Who do you buy the fish for?
0:42:28 > 0:42:30So, you're a middleman.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33You come here, buy as much fish as possible,
0:42:33 > 0:42:35- and then sell it to the restaurants in Chinatown.- Yeah.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38What's the most you've ever spent here?
0:42:41 > 0:42:43- 10,000?- Yes.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46- You spent 10,000 in one night?- Yes.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50So, do you have a regular market tender that you go to?
0:42:53 > 0:42:55You try everybody.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58- You just want the cheapest fish.- Yes.
0:42:58 > 0:43:02So, how much profit do you make on one fish?
0:43:08 > 0:43:11- So, you've got to sell a lot of fish to make a lot of money.- Yeah.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14- Shall we go and haggle for some fish?- Yeah.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17We want to buy some fish. Can we...?
0:43:17 > 0:43:181.10.
0:43:18 > 0:43:201.10? That's no good. Haggle harder.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24Are you out of your mind?
0:43:24 > 0:43:27- Are you out of your mind? - OK, so, meet him in the middle.
0:43:28 > 0:43:3085 cents.
0:43:31 > 0:43:32That's the middle for me.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36- Hey, there's 26 other market places. - Yeah, OK.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38- No- BLEEP- way.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44It's worth a buck and a quarter. Best I'll do is 1. 75 cents?
0:43:45 > 0:43:47I'm not giving you 50 cents.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51- No. See, you're moving up already. - Come on.- Come back in an hour.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54- If I don't have anything left, you're going to be- BLEEP.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57- I need that...- Listen, let's meet in the middle.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00You want 50 cents? I'll do 75 cents.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03- 70?- Yeah, 70 cents.
0:44:03 > 0:44:04Here's your deal.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09- All right?- All right. - Here, you got 5,000 pounds.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12- All right?- All right.- Yeah!
0:44:12 > 0:44:14So, go pay for it.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16- You- BLEEP.- You're a thief!
0:44:17 > 0:44:21So, John's done a deal tonight. The seller wanted 1.25.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24He's managed to negotiate it down to 70 cents.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27He's taking this pallet of fish home tonight.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33Right now, less than 1% of New York's food
0:44:33 > 0:44:37is actually grown in the city, but that's changing.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43Anita went to check out some unexpected food sources.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48Deep in New York's concrete jungle,
0:44:48 > 0:44:52a quiet agricultural revolution is taking place,
0:44:52 > 0:44:54if you know where to look.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02Oh, my God!
0:45:03 > 0:45:05This is incredible.
0:45:05 > 0:45:06Wow.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10At the top of the Marriott hotel,
0:45:10 > 0:45:14750ft above the hustle and bustle of Midtown,
0:45:14 > 0:45:16there's a different buzz.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19- Hello, Andrew.- Anita, hi. - Good to see you. How are you?
0:45:19 > 0:45:22- Nice to see you. - What an incredible spot.
0:45:22 > 0:45:23It's not bad.
0:45:23 > 0:45:28'In 2014, this hotel asked master beekeeper Andrew Cote
0:45:28 > 0:45:31'to set up a hive on the 67th floor.
0:45:31 > 0:45:32'Now there are two.'
0:45:32 > 0:45:36It's only a bee. So, you take the smoker and I'll veil up.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38What does the smoke do?
0:45:38 > 0:45:42- It helps calm the bees a little bit. - How many bees are in this hive?
0:45:42 > 0:45:45- There are probably about 50,000 in this hive right now.- Incredible.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48Twice a year, Andrew harvests the honey
0:45:48 > 0:45:50to give to hotel guests as a souvenir.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53How much honey comes out one of these hives?
0:45:53 > 0:45:56We probably get about 40 kilos out of each hive, each year.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00- Ooh, yum.- This is all honey here, all of this is honey.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03And they're doing very, very well here, they're very happy,
0:46:03 > 0:46:06they're right near the buffet at Central Park.
0:46:06 > 0:46:07So, that's where they go?
0:46:07 > 0:46:12They visit the canopy of trees, all the way up to the end.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15For the bees, it's a six-mile round trip.
0:46:15 > 0:46:20They need to visit 2 million flowers to make just one jar of honey.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22And it's fine for them to fly all this way, obviously?
0:46:22 > 0:46:26It is unusual to have bees this high up, but it's working.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28These bees are producing honey.
0:46:29 > 0:46:34New York's appetite for local, sustainable food is growing.
0:46:34 > 0:46:35Over the last decade,
0:46:35 > 0:46:39the number of farmers' markets has increased by 70%.
0:46:39 > 0:46:45Andrew sells honey from his other 74 city beehives at 25 a pot,
0:46:45 > 0:46:47around £19.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49Is it just for the novelty?
0:46:49 > 0:46:51It's not for that reason,
0:46:51 > 0:46:57it's just because the hotel has the vision to be part of the greening
0:46:57 > 0:47:00of the Big Apple, to pollinate the Big Apple,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03and they want to have this connection to nature.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10And it's not just honey.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12Across the five boroughs,
0:47:12 > 0:47:16400 rooftops went green between 2010 and 2015.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22Ever year, this 65,000 square foot rooftop farm in Brooklyn
0:47:22 > 0:47:26produces ten tonnes of lettuce, herbs and tomatoes.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31Food that only has to travel a couple of miles
0:47:31 > 0:47:32to reach the customer.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36But it comes at a price that not everyone can afford.
0:47:37 > 0:47:421.4 million New Yorkers don't have enough food to get by.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45For them, urban agriculture is a lifeline.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50In the city's 500 community gardens,
0:47:50 > 0:47:53free fresh food is provided for local families.
0:47:55 > 0:47:56- Good to see you.- Same here.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59What a beautiful little oasis of calm.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01At this garden in the Bronx,
0:48:01 > 0:48:04Karen Washington helped pioneer a green-fingered revolution.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08The Garden of Happiness is now one of 200 community gardens
0:48:08 > 0:48:10that are now in the Bronx.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14This quarter-acre site has 30 vegetable plots,
0:48:14 > 0:48:1711 chickens and 20 local volunteers,
0:48:17 > 0:48:20bringing in around a tonne of fresh produce every year.
0:48:22 > 0:48:24For me, I like to grow collard greens.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27We grow tomatoes, we grow peppers,
0:48:27 > 0:48:29and you can see there's some mint here.
0:48:29 > 0:48:30Good for salads.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32- Mint?- Mint.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35Together, New York's community gardens
0:48:35 > 0:48:39produce 193 tonnes of food a year.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42So, when you set this up or got involved in 1988,
0:48:42 > 0:48:45- was everyone behind you? - Initially, people laughed at us.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47They thought it wasn't going to succeed,
0:48:47 > 0:48:49but here we are, 28 years later,
0:48:49 > 0:48:52and urban agriculture and community gardens
0:48:52 > 0:48:53are on everyone's lips,
0:48:53 > 0:48:56not only here in the United States, but globally.
0:48:56 > 0:49:01Urban agriculturists claim there are still 5,000 acres of land available
0:49:01 > 0:49:04in New York where food could be grown -
0:49:04 > 0:49:07that's nearly six times the size of Central Park.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10And how supportive is New York City to what you've got going on here?
0:49:10 > 0:49:12So, right now, New York City's very supportive
0:49:12 > 0:49:16because of the fact that we do have issues around hunger and poverty,
0:49:16 > 0:49:19and so we always try to encourage our gardeners to make sure
0:49:19 > 0:49:23the politicians come out and visit your garden, be part of the garden,
0:49:23 > 0:49:25they know who you are, that they're...
0:49:25 > 0:49:28That your garden's on their radar, so that when it comes,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31maybe your garden comes up for development, they can say,
0:49:31 > 0:49:33"Oh, no, don't touch that garden."
0:49:43 > 0:49:46It's 6am and it's around the busiest time of the day,
0:49:46 > 0:49:49and they've had about 500 buyers come through,
0:49:49 > 0:49:52and all of those buyers will be desperate to make sure
0:49:52 > 0:49:55that their fresh fish is loaded up into the vans
0:49:55 > 0:49:59and in the city before the start of the rush hour.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01A special team of independent loaders
0:50:01 > 0:50:04get the customers' fish onto their vans for them.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10Herbie is one of the guys whose job it is to make sure the right loads
0:50:10 > 0:50:13get to the right vans. Herbie, how you doing, mate?
0:50:13 > 0:50:14All right, how you doing?
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Tell me, what's your system to make sure these get to the right vans?
0:50:17 > 0:50:21What I have to do is go by the numbers on the items they get...
0:50:21 > 0:50:24- Yeah.- ..and what loading zone they're parked in.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27So, explain to me, what does this number mean? What's all this?
0:50:27 > 0:50:291433 is a guide truck.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33- So, that'll be on the truck? - That's the truck number.- Yeah, yep.
0:50:33 > 0:50:35This is how many items he's getting.
0:50:35 > 0:50:36- One item.- One item.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39And this is the loading zone.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41- Beekman Street.- Beekman Street.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47It's one of eight loading zones that surround the market.
0:50:47 > 0:50:52Herbie must deliver to van number 1433 within Beekman.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55It's like a postcode for the loading bays.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59And you guys are whizzing up and down here at top speed, right?
0:50:59 > 0:51:01How would you be able to run this thing
0:51:01 > 0:51:03if you didn't have this system?
0:51:03 > 0:51:05You wouldn't be able to run it at all.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08You'd be losing everybody's product, going on the wrong truck.
0:51:08 > 0:51:09You're sending someone crabs
0:51:09 > 0:51:11when they should be getting tilapia, yeah?
0:51:11 > 0:51:15- Yeah.- Listen, you need to get this into the city, right?
0:51:15 > 0:51:17- So, I'll let you go free.- Thank you.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22This load will be heading out of the market within minutes.
0:51:26 > 0:51:31It's a daily exodus that starts at 5am from all the food markets
0:51:31 > 0:51:33and distributors across Hunts Point.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38The apples I saw upstate have made it
0:51:38 > 0:51:44to this 200,000-square-foot produce warehouse.
0:51:44 > 0:51:50135 million apples move through here each year.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54All 4,000 varieties of fruit and vegetable stocked here
0:51:54 > 0:51:57are moved on in fewer than 72 hours.
0:51:59 > 0:52:00OK, let's do it.
0:52:00 > 0:52:05Each day, 250 drivers deliver 100,000 boxes
0:52:05 > 0:52:07of fresh food into the city.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10- Buckle up.- Yep, I'm buckled up.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13I'm joining Kelby on his daily round.
0:52:13 > 0:52:14So, where are we heading today?
0:52:14 > 0:52:18Today, we're going to be going to Brooklyn.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20Onboard, we've got spring onions from Mexico,
0:52:20 > 0:52:25oranges and lemons from California, and apples from New York State.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27But first, we've got to get there.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30Oh, here we are, the traffic.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32Yeah, this is it right here, bumper to bumper.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35Does this job feel pressured at times?
0:52:35 > 0:52:38It is a time-sensitive job, catering to, like, restaurants, hotels.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41You can imagine, they all want their stuff yesterday.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49But there are some foods customers are happy to wait longer for.
0:52:49 > 0:52:54The prime beef I saw being reared in Pennsylvania travels 200 miles
0:52:54 > 0:52:57from the abattoir to the meat market here in Hunts Point.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02Mark Solas and his family run one of the 39 businesses
0:53:02 > 0:53:05based on the million-square-foot site.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08Here it comes.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11It is enormous. Absolutely huge.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13- As you can see, this is prime.- Yep.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18So, this is the top quality, top grade beef.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22Mark specialises in supplying New York's famous steakhouses
0:53:22 > 0:53:24with high-quality, aged beef.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30- How much do they weigh? - About 100 kilos.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32That's a lot of beef.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36To make them easier to manoeuvre, carcasses are transported on rails.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38It's called "swinging beef".
0:53:38 > 0:53:41- I'm going to push it. - See if you can give it a push.
0:53:41 > 0:53:42One, two...
0:53:45 > 0:53:47- Woo!- You're hired.
0:53:48 > 0:53:53Once unloaded, fresh meat is taken to a state-of-the-art ageing room,
0:53:53 > 0:53:56where it's stored at just above freezing for 28 days
0:53:56 > 0:53:58to improve the flavour and texture.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01- Wow.- See, it's turned black.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03- Yeah.- That's when it sits in an ageing room,
0:54:03 > 0:54:07the air and the circulation will oxidise the front of the meat,
0:54:07 > 0:54:11turning it black, but underneath the black coat
0:54:11 > 0:54:13is actually nice red meat.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16The marbling is beautiful, there's so much fat in there.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19The more marbling that's inside the eye, the more flavour.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22That robust, nutty flavour is going to emanate
0:54:22 > 0:54:24throughout the rest of the muscle.
0:54:24 > 0:54:29After ageing, the meat is cut up by a dozen butchers and sent out.
0:54:29 > 0:54:3522 trucks take 600,000 worth of meat into the city each day.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39I'm hitching a ride into Manhattan with driver Celestino.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41- Done?- Done.- OK.
0:54:43 > 0:54:48In Brooklyn, we've already delivered four boxes of apples to a pie shop,
0:54:48 > 0:54:50and there's no time to linger.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55On a typical round, drivers have to make ten deliveries.
0:54:57 > 0:54:59Next stop, an upmarket grocery store,
0:54:59 > 0:55:01but there's no loading bay.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04What's this truck like to park?
0:55:04 > 0:55:07Difficult. Tricky.
0:55:07 > 0:55:08Hard.
0:55:08 > 0:55:09Kelby!
0:55:12 > 0:55:14There's a space outside the store,
0:55:14 > 0:55:19but Kelby isn't sure the 8.2m-long truck will fit.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21It's tight. That's really tight.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23- I don't think you're going to get in there.- I know.
0:55:23 > 0:55:28A space comes free, but it's a bus stop and we've got company.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33Parking is a huge challenge for the city's delivery drivers.
0:55:33 > 0:55:39This distribution company alone rings up 180,000 of fines a year.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42There's a traffic warden. Is it OK to park here?
0:55:42 > 0:55:43Uh... We'll find out.
0:55:46 > 0:55:51Drivers like Kelby have no choice but to risk fines.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53New Yorkers are relying on them
0:55:53 > 0:55:55for the daily drop of fresh fruit and veg.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58Do you want me to help you out? Let me help you out with these.
0:55:58 > 0:56:03- Yeah, sure.- So, how many deliveries of apples a week would you get?
0:56:03 > 0:56:05We get about 200 kilos a week.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07- That's a lot of apples. - Yeah, it is a lot of apples.
0:56:07 > 0:56:11I mean, everything you see here is probably going to get sold today.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13All of this will go?
0:56:13 > 0:56:16Yeah, all this will go. We'll re-stock this later today.
0:56:16 > 0:56:21The city's 5,500 food stores and 24,000 restaurants
0:56:21 > 0:56:24are the final link in New York's food chain.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27They're the front line of this vast network.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30We bring the beef. Hi.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34From here, there's only one more stop - the customer's stomach.
0:56:34 > 0:56:36How many steaks do you sell a day here?
0:56:36 > 0:56:38Whoa, that's a good question.
0:56:38 > 0:56:43A lot. We serve around 350, 400 dinners and lunches.
0:56:43 > 0:56:48Steaks that have travelled 200 miles from farmer to abattoir,
0:56:48 > 0:56:50butcher to restaurant,
0:56:50 > 0:56:55finally landing on the plates of hungry New Yorkers as a 90 meal.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05And that's it. It's 7am, the end of a night shift,
0:57:05 > 0:57:07and these guys are packing up to go home.
0:57:07 > 0:57:12And, guys, business has been good, because last night 75 trucks came in
0:57:12 > 0:57:15and by this morning, they'd shifted 408 tonnes of fish.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18It's been a brilliant night,
0:57:18 > 0:57:21and fascinating to get under the skin of what it takes to feed
0:57:21 > 0:57:25this city, and also understand the level of smell this place produces,
0:57:25 > 0:57:27because we are whiffy.
0:57:27 > 0:57:29Hey, I don't know about you guys, but I smell all right.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31- He smells terrible.- Eau de scampi.
0:57:34 > 0:57:39Tonight, we've shown you what it takes to feed New York.
0:57:39 > 0:57:43Next time, we're in Central Park and we reveal what it's like
0:57:43 > 0:57:44to live in this city.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48Ade hits the streets of Harlem.
0:57:48 > 0:57:49And I saw a man run by,
0:57:49 > 0:57:52followed by another man with a gun and he was shooting at us.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55- Seriously?- Oh, yeah. - Shooting at you?
0:57:55 > 0:57:58Dan gets into deep water on Coney Island.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00So, the ocean came in round the back?
0:58:00 > 0:58:03Yes, it flooded the entire area.
0:58:03 > 0:58:09Ant's in the city, discovering that even thin air has a price tag.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11You spent 1 billion and you didn't get any land?
0:58:11 > 0:58:13Correct.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17And I'm hearing what residents love and hate about the Big Apple.
0:58:17 > 0:58:20I just feel like there's never a dull moment in New York.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23My rent doubled overnight.