if a license to drive in  New York is suspended for a DWAI, is it
legal for me to  get
a license from my second state of residence in North Carolina to
operate in North Carolina, for instance does the NC database include
the suspension in New York?

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but in this computer age,
North Carolina has almost instant access to your suspension from New
York, and the law of North Carolina specifies that the state has the
authority to suspend or revoke a driver's license if the driver has
committed an offense in another state.

North Carolina and New York are members of the Driver's License
Compact, which is a group of states that share information about
drivers' records. These states participate in a computer database that
enable them to access pertinent data such as a license suspension:

"The Drivers License Compact require member states to report tickets
received by motorist to the state where they received a license to
drive so as to receive points and get an insurance hike. Also when a
state suspends the license of a driver who is from out-of-state, the
state where the motorist received a license to drive will also suspend
their license as well.

Member States : Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida,
Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky - Joined
8/96, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New
York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee
(Dropped out in 1997), Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington,
West Virginia, Wyoming."

Guide to Miscellaneous Traffic Laws: About the Drivers License Compact
http://home.pcisys.net/~bpc/auto_law/dlc.html

N.C.G.S. § 20-16(a)(7) gives North Carolina the authority to suspend
or revoke a driver's license if the driver has committed an offense in
another state that would be grounds for suspension in North Carolina:

"§ 20-16.  Authority of Division to suspend license.
  (a)The Division shall have authority to suspend the
license of any operator with or without a preliminary hearing
upon a showing by its records or other satisfactory evidence
that the licensee:
       (1)  through (4) Repealed by Session Laws 1979, c. 36;
       (5)  Has, under the provisions of subsection (c) of this
            section, within a three-year period, accumulated 12
            or more points, or eight or more points in the
            three-year period immediately following the
            reinstatement of a license which has been suspended
            or revoked because of a conviction for one or more
            traffic offenses;
       (6)  Has made or permitted an unlawful or fraudulent use
            of such license or a learner's permit, or has
            displayed or represented as his own, a license or
            learner's permit not issued to him;
       (7)  Has committed an offense in another state, which if
            committed in this State would be grounds for
            suspension or revocation..."

North Carolina General Assembly: General Statutes
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Statutes/GeneralStatutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_20/GS_20-16.html

Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "driver's license compact" + "new york" + "north carolina"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22driver%27s+license+compact%22+%22new+york%22+%22north+carolina%22

Google Web Search: "driver's license" + "suspension" + "north carolina"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22driver%27s+license%22+suspension+%22north+carolina%22

I hope this information is useful. If anything is unclear, or if a
link doesn't work for you, please request clarification; I'll be glad
to offer further assistance before you rate my answer.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

excellent, and very quick