New York City

After years of rumors, it's finally real: NYC FC is here. MLS commissioner Don Garber announced this morning that the league will expanding with a second NYC-area team called New York City Football Club, to begin playing in 2015. The Yankees and Manchester City FC have partnered to form the ownership team. [ more › ]

An NYPD Captain and graduate of Harvard Kennedy School of Government was arrested early this morning for assault and harassment. According to police, Captain Daniel Sosnowik was arrested around 5:30 a.m. in Brooklyn's 63rd Precinct, which abuts East Flatbush and covers Marine Park, Mill Basin and Bergen Beach. An NYPD spokeswoman declined to provide an address or details on Sosnowik's arrest, but the New York Post is reporting that Sosnowik "attacked his wife." [ more › ]

After struggling to keep his over-the-top Russian restaurant Brasserie Pushkin afloat, restauranteur Andrey Dellos decided to reinvent the space as Betony, bringing aboard two Eleven Madison Park veterans to realize the transformation. Eamon Rockey—who recently helmed Tribeca's Atera and Williamsburg's Aska—and Bryce Shuman were tasked with creating a modern American restaurant that retained the upscale setting befitting its history but with a more relaxed and welcoming vibe. [ more › ]

The NYPD's "Lucky Bag" sting operation has done a great job nailing people who find a discarded bag and make the mistake of poking around inside it. If you recall, Operation Lucky Bag involves police leaving a "bag in a public location filled with valuables such as an iPod or cash," and then arresting whoever picks it up—even though the law gives people 10 days to return lost property to its owners or the police department. The sting has been very "successful" in Central Park, where tourist Yakov Dubin was one unlucky target in 2011. He later sued the city for $1 million, and now another class action suit is piling on. [ more › ]

My search for the best falafel in New York continues…. Upon entering Alfanoose, I thought I’d get something you don’t usually get with falafel: table service. The large dining room is unusual for a falafel joint in NYC, tying into its old history of being traditionally a street food. My instincts were wrong at Alfanoose. You still had to approach a counter at the back of the long dining room to place your order, pay, and wait for the preparation before you can take a load off and start munching. Still, unlike most establishments that serve falafel, Alfanoose did offer a comfortable environment to enjoy the sandwich. Focusing on Lebanese food, Alfanoose has been very popular since they opened downtown in 1999. They even expanded a few years ago to this larger restaurant space from a more expected take-out joint down the street. It’s only recently that I’ve started spending more time in the Financial District (giving food cart tours) so it’s no surprise (to me at least) that this was my first visit. I was surprised, however, by the sloppy presentation of the sandwich. The ultra-thin pita was wrapped more like a burrito than the Middle Eastern pockets I’ve come to expect. The bread ripped easily as I picked it up, forcing me to embark on a knife and fork endeavor. As I bit into the sandwich, I got a lot of lettuce, tomatoes, and onions.  Where are my pickles, eggplant, or tahini? It also took a few bites before I got to the falafel itself. These were chopped into strips rather than shaped into balls. I have nothing against shape, as long as they taste good. And just like the unusual presentation, Alfanoose’s falafel had a distinct flavor. There was a raisin-y sweetness that was unique and pleasant, along with some hints of cumin and garlic. It had a decent crunch, but I found the falafel itself dry. Unfortunately, there was just a light schmear of tahini sauce (although I could have sworn it was yogurt) so not even that helped with the dryness. It wasn’t a bad falafel, but it certainly doesn’t warrant all the accolades it has received over the years. Even early on in my falafel journey, I know there are better options out there. But those places might not offer a place to sit down. Does Alfanoose have the best falafel in NY? The sandwich itself is a mess and while the falafel had a nice, unique flavor, it only gets a 7 out of 10 since the fried pattys were a little dry. ALFANOOSE 8 Maiden Lane (between Broadway and Nassau Street), (212) 528-4669 Financial District alfanoose.com Tweet This Post

Way to harsh everyone's mellow. A butcher operating out of Pike Place Market in Seattle has been feeding pigs all of those "useless" stems, root bulbs, and "over sized" marijuana leaves produced as by-product at the local medical dispensary. The special feed, William von Schneidau tells NPR, leads to the production of "redder and more savory" meat. Of course it does! The BB Ranch owner has also been busy slipping mickeys to his livestock in the form of the local vodka distillery's spent grains. When all is said and done in the abattoir, "Pot Pig" holds blowout dinners for $120 a head with stoner pig on the menu. There are also "gourmet cupcakes" for dessert. Here's a look behind the scenes: Grooviness aside, in all fairness, the pigs at Bucking Boar Farm don't look as strung out as one might think, and the use of spent grains as animal feed dates back beyond the Neolithic. On the other hand, von Schneidau's claim that he's helping the environment by reducing waste and using up hyperlocal pot-plant clippings might be more effective if it weren't used in service of such a blatant marketing gimmick. It would at least be good to know if the pigs are getting high and having a good time. Von Schneidau tells NPR he'd welcome more science-minded personnel to come in and take a look, but for now, he's in full-on "Pot Pig" mode. "I just get out there," he says, "and cut them up, and put them on a BBQ, and eat them." Washington State Butcher Spikes Pig Feed With Weed [NPR] Read more posts by Hugh MerwinFiled Under: no seeds no stems no sticks, bucking boar farm, pike place market, products, seattle

Rendering via Dezeen This hairy-looking skyscraper towering over Stockholm is actually Swedish firm Belatchew Arkitekter's rendering for a rather surrealistic "urban wind farm of the future," a 40-story tower covered top to bottom in energy-harvesting plastic straws. The bulk of the tower is already built as the city's Henning Larsen's Söder Torn, which was completed in 1997 and currently stands at 26 stories. Belatchew's plans for Strawscraper include adding 14 extra floors and a skin of tubes that, through relatively small movements produced by wind, will generate electricity. The coolest part? According to the project description, if this technique works, "both old and new buildings can be transformed into energy-producing entities," which seems like a huge pay-off for having a skyline dotted with giant, high-tech pipe cleaners. Rendering via Dezeen "What is usually considered to be the most static of all things, the building, suddenly comes alive and the construction gives the impression of a body that is breathing," the architects write. Adding to the electric-toothbrush feel even more, "The straws swaying in the wind give the building a constantly changing façade further reinforced at nighttime with lighting in changing colours." Rendering via Dezeen · Strawscraper by Belatchew Arkitekter [Dezeen] · All Architectural Craziness posts [Curbed National]

Allison Robicelli is organizing an effort to raise money for those affected by the tornado in Oklahoma yesterday. Mile End Deli, Thirty Acres, and Liddabit Sweets are among those already on board, with a goal of raising $15,000. The money will go to Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization that also came to the aid of New Yorkers after Hurricane Sandy. The Robicelli's is urging people to donate to them rather than to the Red Cross, which they say "was MIA after Sandy." [EaterWire]

Syracuse – Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim maintains little hope that former Syracuse star Carmelo Anthony can win an NBA title with the New York Knicks. “Not on that team,” Boeheim said. “He did what he can do. He played very well the final game. Everybody’s killing him but Tyson Chandler just didn’t try to catch the ball. He threw him the ball and Tyson Chandler went like this (Boeheim dodged in a chair in his office in the Carmelo K. Anthony Center). He was wide open. He should have been looking for the ball right here. Kenyon Martin should have been looking for the ball. They both went like this (Boeheim dodged again). Carmelo gets turnovers and the announcers aren’t smart enough to even think, ‘Well, the guy should try to catch the ball.’ ” Boeheim said the Knicks needed Anthony, Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith to play well every night to have a chance in almost any game this season. “Those guys weren’t great players where they were and now they’re asking them to be second and third options,” Boeheim said. “In Miami the second and third options are Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Your fourth option is Ray Allen, who is still in good shape. Your fifth option is Shane Battier, who is still a good player. The New York Knicks have who?”  “I said to my son, ‘He’s going to have to get 50 for them to win,’ ” Boeheim said. “That’s what he needed. Fifty. You’re not going to get that against Indiana. They run an isolation offense so he goes one-on-one all the time. It’s hard. It’s hard work. They need more of an offense where he can get something going. He has to work too hard. That’s not his fault. That’s how it’s set up.”  “Tyson Chandler claims he never gets the ball. He doesn’t try to get the ball,” said Boeheim, who coached Chandler when he was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team. “He had two points and Hibbert had (21). What was the difference in the series? Raymond Felton was 0-for-7. Lance Stephenson had (25) points. They’re going to blame it on Carmelo? I told him when he went to New York, they’re going to blame it on you.” “They have no chance to win. (Knicks starter) Pablo Prigioni has never scored against (the U.S. team). We played Argentina six or seven times in different events. He hasn’t scored … against us. You have to have players to win in the NBA.” “They’re getting nothing but older,” Boeheim said. “They’re not going to get better. They need two more options. Chris Paul would be the guy. … No one else can help them. They’re not going to beat Miami. Indiana’s not going to get worse, they’re going to get better. It doesn’t look good.” So we never really got a chance to rehash the Stoolie commenter reactions when I compared Durant to Melo. First off, just a little lesson on how the world works – comparing two people doesn’t mean I think they are equals. Saying Carmelo and Durant are in similar situations doesn’t mean I think Durant is better than Melo. A very, very basic notion Stoolies could not seem to grasp. But the better reaction during that debate was all the Stoolies who all the sudden claimed the Knicks were absolutely stacked and loaded with talent surrounding Carmelo. All year long I’d write hopeful blogs saying when the Knicks played their best, they were capable of beating anybody. Which of course stirred up reactions of “KFC you know absolutely nothing about basketball. The Knicks can beat anyone? 40 year old Jason Kidd? Injured Tyson Chandler? 30 year old rookie Pablo Prigioni? Oh and don’t even say JR Smith. A 6th man of the year is your 2nd option. Lol. The Knicks suck and so do you.” Then I write a blog saying Carmelo’s supporting cast is absol

Nothing can top astronaut ice cream. It won't be long before we can travel into space for $200,000 and solve global hunger by printing healthy pizza made with grass and insects. NASA has given mechanical engineer Anjan Contractor a $125,000 grant to create a prototype for a food synthesizer that uses his 3-D printing technology. Say what? The idea is that people can buy cartridges of sugars, carbohydrates, and protein in powder form, which could last 30 years, and then use 3-D printing to synthesize nutritious meals one layer at a time. "I think, and many economists think, that current food systems can't supply 12 billion people sufficiently," Contractor told Quartz. "So we eventually have to change our perception of what we see as food." Contractor's focusing on making a "pizza printer" that will produce a layer of heated dough, a tomato base, and a protein layer from animals, milk, or plants. So how the hell do bugs, the food of the future, play into this plan? Dutch think-tank TNO Research says that 3-D printed meals can be made from alternative ingredients like insects, algae, and grass. Let's hope it tastes better than rehydrated astronaut coffee. The audacious plan to end hunger with 3-D printed food [Quartz] Welcome to the Real Space Age [NYM] Earlier: 8 Reasons Why Some People Think Bugs Are the Food of the Future Watch David Chang and Traci Des Jardins Try Astronaut Coffee Read more posts by Sierra TishgartFiled Under: future of food, bugs, eating bugs, insects, nasa, space