NEW YORK CITY, New York -

The most populous metropolis of the United States, New York City is, depending on one's point of view, any one of four cities: to social scientists it is a laboratory in which to study the challenges of urban life, from ghastly slum to tycoon luxury; to tourists it is a city of jostling crowds, horn honking traffic jams, dirty streets, smelly subways - all in dramatic contrast to such international symbols as the United Nations Headquarters, Wall Street, and the Statue of Liberty; to commuters it is an enervating beehive of world trade and finance, mass media, business administration, fashion, and assorted entrepreneurial activities and manufacture - a place to leave as soon as possible in the evening for the more serene atmosphere of greener suburbia.

But to the residents of this city, New York City is in reality a collection of many neighborhoods scattered among the city's five boroughs - Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island - each exhibiting its own lifestyle.  To move from one neighborhood to another in the city's 304 square miles may be like passing from one country to another.  Such clichés as "New York is not the United States" or "It's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there" were probably coined by commentators unaware of the importance of this neighborly aspect of what Walt Whitman called the "hurrying, feverish, electric crowds."

To Eastern Airlines, New York City is the cornerstone to the entire Northeast region.  Over 200 flights from its 3 major airports makes New York the second busiest city in Eastern's network (Atlanta takes the cake at a whopping 361 daily flights).  Three separate pilot bases are offered from New York's airports at La Guardia, JFK, and Newark Int'l.