That suddenly erupted on 58th street. Several hours later jonathan took a look at couldnt believe how close he came to seriously getting hurt. Hes telling his story only to Eyewitness News. The asphalt cracked and all the smoke was coming out like crazy. It was like everything was going to fall down. Like it was going to be a huge sinkhole. Reporter Officials Say around 9 40 this morning there was a leak in a water main here below 58th street between 6th and 7th avenues. The water spilled on to a steam pipe underground and in two separate spots around the corner from each other, the Chain Reaction caused vapors. Witnesses say at least seven stories high to shoot up in the air. There was a huge cloud of white smoke and then i got like a waxy substance on my glasses. And it was like pretty hard to clean off. I got it all over my coat. Reporter it all happened right as construction crews were beginning a job here on 58th street. Several workers told me there were red flags much earlier this they say specifically at this building with the red park sign. This man didnt want to show his face. Tried to put his car in the garage. They told me i couldnt park over there because they have water problems. Reporter water problems at 6 00 in the morning, roughly three and a half hours before this happened. Then at 7 30, crews were about to start pouring cement. They stopped us. Its simple because its too much steam. Too much steam in the cellar and subcellar of that structure. They were ordered to evacuate the building. Crews were out here taking samples which will be tested at the lab. The concern now is asbestos. The road was damaged out here. It buckled there. No telling how long that will take to be fixed as well as the pipes underneath 58th street. Another thing, no one was hurt out here. Kemberly richardson. Eyewitness news. Big delays right now on the new jersey turnpike. All this because of emergency repairs. Two lanes closed on the southbound eastern spur of the turnpike near exit 15x. Traffic backed up to the tolls to enter the turnpike. A search is underway tonight for the person who shot and killed a Rutgers Newark student and wounded his roommate. Police say 21yearold shani patels body was found inside his Central Avenue apartment in newark last night. Patels roommate, a 23yearold rutgers graduate, was also wounded. Investigators believe the shooting may be drugrelated. A 10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest. Investigators are on the scene of a suspicious fire that destroyed a home in rocklin county. Flames broke out on the second floor of a home in hill crest this morning. The homeowner and her adult son were inside the house at the time. They told firefighters they heard an explosion. The homeowner is okay but her to his hands and his face. Hillary clinton and Bernie Sanders may have stopped the nasty bickering from last week but theyre still running against each other and getting together for coffee seems on neithers calendar. Mrs. Clinton on long island focusing on the new york metro area. Sanders is upstate, ahead of the New York Primary a week from tomorrow. Political reporter dave evans traveling with mrs. Clinton on long island. Hillary clinton today, she was pulling no punches going after sanders on everything from gun reform to Immigration Reform, to even she said he cant handle the new york city media. We havent really heard a direct response from the Sanders Campaign today but clinton is clearly showing she is not going to let up on sanders between now and our primary day, april 19th. Reporter Hillary Clinton began her day at an Indian Restaurant in jackson heights. Her message, shes right on immigration, and donald trump is not. That mexicans who come to america are rapists. Reporter after all, she donald trump says we can solve americas problems by turning against each other. Reporter but after todays event, clinton also went after on immigration too. Our records are very clear. I started cosponsoring the dream act back in 2002 or 2003 and i consistently did that. Senator sanders, by contrast, was supporting vigilantes, so called minutemen on the border. Reporter Hillary Clinton today made sanders sound like a right wing zealot when it comes to fixing the nations broken immigration system. Sanders is upstate today, claiming he can actually beat clinton on her home turf. And the reason going to win and the reason weve been doing so well all across this country is were doing something extremely radical. Were telling the American People the truth. Reporter but this afternoon violence, clinton lowered the boom on sanders. He frequently says, you know, i represent vermont. Its a small rural state. We have no gun laws. Reporter and clinton surprisingly accused sanders and his home state of playing a role in new york violence. In the state that has the highest per capita number of those guns that end up committing crimes in new york come from vermont. Were still waiting for a direct response from the Sanders Campaign about these new clinton attacks. Its interesting, clinton is not calling these attacks. She said it is simply comparing her record while she was in the senate to his Current Record in the senate. Well see you at 6 00. Reporting live in port washington, dave evans, channel 7 Eyewitness News. As for the republican candidates, john kasich spending the day upstate new york. The Ohio Governor holding a town hall meeting today in troy. He also held a closed door meeting with republican members of the new york state assembly. What he saw as his path forward to the republican nomination. Youve got to go out and hunt delegates. Thats part of what this is about. Everybody has been talking about who wins what thing and i keep telling people its about accumulating delegates which is now coming clear, that the hunt for delegates really matters. Heidi cruz campaigning for her husband tonight. Donald trump has an event tonight in albany. Amid the intense battle among democrats, Vice President joe biden is showing once again he can be a little too honest. Theres no problem. Were going to be able to elect a woman in this country. Would you like to see us elect a woman . I would like to see a woman elected. Thats it. No, thats all right. I dont mind. Im not getting in to that. Id like to ask one more question. The president and i are not going to endorse. You heard bidens aide try to end the interview with the youth targeted website mike. Com. The Vice President went on to say both candidates are overwhelmingly qualified but hes not endorsing anyone just yet. New york mayor de blasio speaking tonight about the winding federal investigation to two of his contributors and fundraisers, but hes insisting tonight he wont talk about it again. Mayor says hell return some of what he received. Its the same investigation thats rocked the nypd. N. J. Burkett in Lower Manhattan with the story. Make absolutely clear that he will at some point have to talk maybe he doesnt want to talk about it tomorrow or the day after that, but clearly hes going to have to do a lot more talking about it in the coming days. Were outside the u. S. Attorneys office where investigators have been looking in to allegations of political fundraising and police favors. Suggestions that political fundraising might have been solicited in exchange for favors. The citys Police Commissioner says hes not ruled out in all this and the mayor continues to insist he knows little about the investigation or the two men believed to be at the heart of it. The first thing i need to tell you is i hold myself and my administration to the highest standard of integrity. Im concerned a reformer for a reason. Reporter the mayor was determined to set the record straight, that he barely knows the two brooklyn businessmen currently under federal investigation along with the nypds former chief of department, phil banks. I met them around the time of the general election. Had had not known them previously. Have spent very little time with them in the scheme of things and not much at all in the last year. Reporter investigators with the u. S. Attorneys office are now pouring through finance records from the mayors 2013 campaign. Amid questions about how Campaign Officials solicited donations from the citys real estate and business sectors. And whether individuals may have benefited from those donations. Sources say that investigation shown here on the left. And jonah on the left. Both tributed both contributed to the campaign. Police are looking in to relations in South Brooklyn where four nypd commanders have been transferred, where things were offered in exchange for gifts or cash, an investigation that remains ongoing. You havent ruled out additional action . No, the investigation as i mentioned is still ongoing. Last weeks action was based on information we had available to us that warrants the action we took. He said hes satisfied hes done as much as he can based on what he knows about the federal investigation so far. At 6 00 well take a look at the origins of this investigation, how it began in a restaurant in harlem, and ended in borough park. Thats coming up on Eyewitness News at 6 00 tonight. Manhattan, n. J. Burkett, channel 7 Eyewitness News. A 24yearold homeless man has been charged with slashing a tourist in manhattan. Investigators say Marvin Taylor tried to rob a 55yearold man while he was sleeping inside the bleaker street 6 train station. Taylor allegedly slashed him multiple times when the victim woke up and tried to stop the robbery. Hes now facing robbery, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. New information tonight in the search for a plane crash victim on long island. The body of gerson salmonnegron was found on the beach of setauket harbor. He had been missing since february 20th when a small plane made an Emergency Landing in the harbor. The other four men were rescued from the water. Still ahead on Eyewitness News at 5 00, burglars breaking in to a bank. Where was security, and how do hundreds of thousands of dollars go missing and unnoticed for days . Tonight in a School District in new jersey over bathroom and locker room access. Very good news for the folks at nasa. They fixed an outer space emergency this afternoon. The sun made a nice appearance today, getting temperatures 92t the in to the low 60s. This will eventually evolve in [ grinding metal ] whoa, that doesnt look good. No, not you. Ordinary fuels can clog your engine with dirt. Its like lugging this around. Its dragging down your fuel economy. [ breaking glass ] but over time, using new and improved bp gasoline with invigorate helps clean up that dirt, like hundreds of scrubbing brushes. [ scrubbing bristles ] so that means a cleaner engine, which helps you get more miles per tank. Ill be here if you need me. New bp gasoline with invigorate. A controversial vote tonight in new jersey where a School District will decide on a new bathroom access policy. It would allow students to use corresponds with their gender identity. New jersey reporter toni yates is live in hillsdale with more. Thats exactly right. The two high schools here in the district would also have to provide for those students a single stall facility or at least a private area for a transgender student to change if they felt more comfortable with that, and the students out here, theyve been actively involved in this discussion. Reporter these four seniors graduate soon. Others to college. Theyll leave high school well versed and rehearsed on what it means to make a difference, stepping up to have their say on the transgender policy to be for good reason. We have friends that are transgender in school and stuff so we heard the opinion of them and we understand how important it is to them. Its not a Huge Community but there is a and the more people that speak up, the better it is because it shows more people agree with it. Reporter the district superintendent says thats adopted in several new jersey School Districts looks to protect. Assuming what the policy passes, it would allow for a transgender student with permission and prior knowledge of the principal the ability to go in to their newly identified restroom. Reporter the district held information meetings for parents in the public. It was during one of those that some people voiced opposition, even asking that tonights vote will be postponed. It hasnt been. Zach is student body president. Wed like to think of it like a second home. Like your home, you dont want to feel uncomfortable. It should be a place where everybody feels included. Reporter joyce cho is president of the human rights league. We have friends who are transgender. We wanted to be in support of it. Reporter students have earned School Awards for their involvement in social causes. A mural in the main hall encourages engagement, tolerance, acceptance. Before and they will again tonight. They can speak for themselves of course, but i think they appreciate to know theyre not alone in this, that there are people who all things being equal, any nontransgender student who feels comfortable with the changes that the policy would bring about would also have access to those private facilities. The meeting tonight at 7 30 here at the high school. Toni yates, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Complicated story. From increasing protections for the Lgbt Community to a state embroiled in controversy demonstrations flooding the rounds of North Carolinas old Capital Building today. 500 people rallied to show their support for the law known as hb2. 100 others gathered in a street. My risk of being attacked, accosted, challenged, even killed in a restroom has the new law spells out which public restroom transgender individual residents must use, the gender thats on their birth certificate. The law is causing more than just an uproar from citizens. Bruce springsteen canceled his North Carolina show to protest the law. Ticket holders showed up in person to get a refund. Bryan adams canceled his concert in mississippi over a similar law passed there as well. Controversy everywhere over this issue to be sure. Meteorologist jeff smith in for lee goldberg. We got about a week more of this, five days more . Temperatures actually over achieved a little bit today. We got a little bit more sunshine. We like overachievers. Some places today got in to the upper 60s like newark, new jersey. Here in the city, 63. Were about a week away from 70degree warmth. Maybe some sustained 70degree warmth in the tristate season. Winds coming in from the south. A little bit breezy. About 17 Miles Per Hour. Look at the high today, getting up to 63, after kind of a chilly morning low of 43. Thats actually fairly normal for this time of the year. We actually went above normal for a change after such a chilly weekend. Record was 84 in 1955. Got all the way down to 24 back in 1909. Could be a stray shower this evening, especially north and west of new york city. Then steadier rain developing toward dawn. This is with a cold front heading our direction. It will last right throughout the Morning Hours of tomorrow. Definitely give yourself a little bit of extra time for the Tuesday Morning commute. There will be puddles out there and definitely grab the rain gear. It gives way to afternoon sunshine. Well clear out in the afternoon. Get temperatures in to the upper 50s. About a week away from that 70degree warmth. 65 right now in newark. You can go out and enjoy this weather right now. 59 at laguardia. 53 at jfk. On the island and over toward jfk airport youre getting the wind from the south which is region. For those locations i just mentioned, thats coming off the cooler waters. Cooler on long island. 54, islip. 55, bridgeport connecticut. Its a whole different story well north and west. 43 right now at monticello. Thats because they did not get sunshine during the day today well north and west. We talked about clouds and some showers affecting these areas and thats exactly what happened. You can see one batch of showers now making its way in to Morris County crossing over i287. Its racing off to the east. And this could get in to the city during the next hour to hour and a half although its tending to weaken as it moves off to the east. So maybe a sprinkle or very light shower at the most and then the steadier stuff is over the ohio valley. That develops by dawn. Maybe just a stray shower during the evening, especially north and west. Then by 7 00 in the morning, steadier rain developing from the city and points west. A heavier batch with the actual frontal passage around 9 a. M. Noon time, maybe a little bit of rain south and east of new york city. We start clearing out in town and then real significant 5 00 in the afternoon. Accuweather forecast for tonight, breezy, mild, stray shower early. Steady rain developing toward dawn. Periods of rain in the morning. Then clouds giving way to afternoon sunshine. 59 tomorrow. So a nice afternoon recovery after kind of a dreary start. Down to 40. Its a big warmup. A sustained warmup in your accuweather 7day forecast next half hour. Well see you then. Sustained warmup. Like that. About time. Up to 2,000 state employees now being laid off. Well have details on the big job losses coming up. First on the scene of that plane crash on long island, hear from crews who pulled the pilot and passenger from a burning plane. Plus, a car deal falling apart after a big recall. Youll see what happens when 7 on your side fights to get back a down payment. An