New York City

A @nyrangers win! Riding the elevator out of the garden with the beautiful @annev. And now bedtime, to get ready for @mets baseball — Matt Harvey (@MattHarvey33) May 7, 2013 NY Post – The Mets phenom might have allowed a single White Sox baserunner to foil a pitching gem earlier this month, but he was absolutely stellar last night at the Rangers contest where he snuggled up to his new girlfriend, 26-year-old supermodel Anne Vyalitsyna. “A @NYRangers win! Riding the elevator out of the garden with the beautiful @AnneV. And now bedtime, to get ready for @Mets baseball” Harvey tweeted on May 6th, right before he got the stunner’s phone number. The two have been dating ever since, according to US Weekly. The 5’9 Vyalitsyna, known as “Anne V” in the fashion world, has appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for the last nine years and has also modeled for Victoria’s Secret. She dated “Maroon 5″ singer Adam Levine from 2010-2012 and has also been romantically linked with “True Blood” star Alexander Skarsgard in the past. Apparently the blond beauty has put those other suiters behind her, because she was seen wrapped in Harvey’s arms while the pair watched the Rangers beat the Bruins in an OT thriller. Life is not too shabby for Matt Harvey huh? Didn’t take very long for him to make the jump from rookie stud to franchise pitcher banging out supermodels. This right here is a massive moment for New York sports. Because up until now, for the past 15 years if you asked “which New York athlete would you want to be?” Derek Jeter was pretty much the undisputed, heavyweight champ. Unanimous choice. Absolutely no doubt about it. And if we’re being perfectly honest, if the debate is still which guy would you wanna be for the next 24 hours, Philip Sanderson still gets the nod. But if the question is which New York athlete are you buying stock in?, which New York athlete do you want to be for the next 15 years? my man Matt Harvey is a blue chip, buy buy buy, choice. Dude is gonna be a top 5 pitcher in baseball. Probably already is. Packs a lip, lets his nose pour with blood, pitches absolute filth every 5th game, and consumes batters and smokeshows with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse. He tweets about meeting Victoria’s Secret/SI models in the elevator and a week later he’s dating them. He’s an absolute savage. And for the next decade-plus, he’s going to dominate this city and any broad of his choosing. The only other competition he has as far as “which NY athlete would you buy stock in?” is John Tavares. But New York will always remain a baseball town and because of that Harvey is the choice. Pretty absurd though that the 2 brightest stars for the foreseeable future in this city come from the Mets and the Isles. PS- There’s only one man in this world I know that could handle dating a chick who previously hooked up with Adam Levine and Alexander Skarsgard, and thats Matt fucking Harvey. I’m not trying to sound gay but the fact that he’s dating Anne V after those guys is indisputable proof that, along with a disgusting fastball and a downright offensive slider, he has an absolute hammer hanging between his legs.

With the release on May 14, 2013 of her recording debut The Art Of The Melody (Nicholas Records), Australian alto saxophonist Angela Davis added a fresh new voice to the legacy of illustrious improvising artists on her instrument who influenced and inspired her like Art Pepper, Paul Desmond and Lee ...

Could MSG be on the move? With just six months left until the finishing touches are placed on the $1 billion renovation of Madison Square Garden, the arena was recently denied an indefinite operating permit by the city of New York, specifically the New York City Planning Commission. Instead MSG was given a 15 year lease on the space it currently sits. Ben Kabak over at Second Ave Sagas weighed in on the matter, and it appears that this new 15 year lease comes with a caveat: MSG will need to find a resolution with the city to “the Penn Station problem.” The “Penn Station problem” is, as Kabak puts it, capacity restraints. As a daily commuter to and from Long Island, I can see where this is coming from. I have often been unable to even enter Penn Station when there are delays, as the station itself is very small and the hallways very narrow. As people get priced out of living in the city, the number of commuters grows on a monthly basis. Another aspect is that many, including some NY Post editorial writers, believe that the city needs to recapture the architectural beauty that was the old Penn Station, and that it needs to be done right where MSG currently stands. The problem here is that there is a pretty large office building right on Seventh Ave that wasn’t there when the original Penn Station stood. Some editorial writers, it appears, have short memories. During the process of granting MSG a 15 year lease, commission Chair Amanda Burden said, “I don’t think anyone would disagree that the best outcome for New York City would be a relocated Madison Square Garden and a rebuilt Penn Station.” Like Kabak, I vehemently disagree with this sentiment. Penn Station is cramped, but there are ways to alleviate this problem without moving MSG. Burden’s comments are also a bit naive, considering James Dolan and Cablevision just spent $1 billion of their own money to renovate MSG. Dolan will not let the city simply walk all over him after he just dropped ten figures into the city’s economy on the renovation. John Q. Taxpayer did not spend a cent of their own money to fund these renovations, and it’s something that Burden should keep in mind before giving a person like James Dolan an ultimatum. Dolan and MSG have another 15 years to sort things out, but I’m pretty sure the man who just put $1 billion of his own money into a renovation is not all that pleased that they are attempting to move the Garden. You can guarantee that if the city pursues this route, Dolan will not spend another $1 billion of his own money on a new arena, of which a location has still not yet been decided. A simple solution, as Kabak put it, is to expand on the current Penn Station and make it more accessible. Tweet

NYC's beaches open today after post-Hurricane Sandy restoration and improvements

“Dancing With the Stars” may be over for Zendaya, but she’s still showing off all her new dance moves for fans. The young actress and her “DWTS” partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, appeared on “Good Morning America” in New York City on May 22nd. Zendaya and Val celebrated their 2nd place victory on “Good Morning America” and did a special dance number just for the show. “Started from the bottom now we here…” the Disney star tweeted while on the plane to New York. Zendaya started the show off in a baby blue suite and matching Manolo Blahnik pumps before changing into a pair of her signature high-top sneakers to dance with Val. Country music and television personality Kellie Pickler took home the victory with the help of her partner Derek Hough. Congrats on the awesome job on “DWTS,” Zendaya!

Guns N' RosesSurprise ShowRose Bar, New York City, New YorkFebruary 14th, 2010Excellent Audience Recording6 audio tracks taken fron the DVD issue.Encoded: 320 Kbps MP3Track List:01 - Welcome To The Jungle (4:58)02 - Used To Love Her (3:58)03 - Sweet Child O' Mine (5:42)04 - Knockin' on Heaven's Door (10:00)05 - Paradise City (6:22)06 - Patience (6:20) Original Post: T.U.B.E. LINK

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg told the head of a taxicab fleet that he plans to “f*****g destroy” the city’s taxi industry when he leaves office on January 1. Bloomberg’s frustration with New York’s yellow cabs and their drivers stems from their unwillingness to adopt new technology such as accepting electronic passenger hails from smartphones, and their resistance to one of the mayor’s pet projects, a redesigned Taxi of Tomorrow. There aren’t a lot of people who can credibly threaten to upend an entire microeconomy. The mayor is a billionaire, though, and he might just have the wherewithal to make it happen. So how might he go about it? Well, first, when Bloomberg says “destroy,” we’re going to presume creative destruction, not physical annihilation. (It’s not that he couldn’t literally wipe out the taxi industry—with his $27 billion in personal wealth, he could undoubtedly afford the requisite military hardware—but even the famously direct Bloomberg might consider such a method unsubtle.) But isn’t car-service app Uber, which lets users order a cab, see on a map how far away it is, and pay for it, all through their phones, already going to disrupt the hidebound taxi industry? Well, probably not while it’s so expensive (although, in my personal experience, the cheaper UberX option has proven cheaper than Los Angeles taxis). More importantly, though, Uber still faces an enormous challenge as long as paid automotive transportation is heavily regulated by public officials under the sway of a concentrated bloc of self-interested small-business owners riding in culturally significant yellow sedans. Uber, along with competitors like Zimride, exists in a regulatory grey area that officials from New York to San Francisco are trying close down, and while they may claim—with some justification—to be worried about consumer safety, a lot of the rules in mind, like banning lighter, eco-friendly cars or using GPS to calculate fares, clearly don’t have safety as their first concern. Still, the laws that have allowed cabbies to block Mayor Bloomberg’s top-down technocratic paternalism while in office are the same ones that keep Uber from disrupting the the hired car sector from below. So if Bloomberg is serious about this smashing-the-yellow-cab-monopoly thing—and please, let him be—what does he have that Uber doesn’t? The answer is the distinguishing feature of his entire political career, from the shift in party allegiance that marked his first mayoral run to his quixotic campaign to enact gun safety rules: His firm belief that money well-deployed can buy any political outcome. And, of course, that $27 billion. A heavily regulated marketplace creates high barriers to entry, but sufficient capital can break through them. Uber has raised $50 million since 2010, and while it doesn’t release revenue figures, it’s clearly in a precarious position when it comes to fighting regulatory lawsuits and city rule-makers. But a Bloomberg-funded trade group, with publicists, lobbyists and lawyers could open the legal doors, while Uber and the like force mobile efficiencies into the sector. And then the market will provide all the destruction a megalomaniacal billionaire could want. More from Quartz: Why Thomson Reuters doesn't stand much chance of displacing Bloomberg's chat service Target joins the "blame the weather" club Emotional intelligence is a better predicter of success than IQ Click here to sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief and start your day with the latest intelligence on the new global economy. Please follow Getting There on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »

EPL powers Manchester City and Chelsea continue their United States tour on Saturday as they will meet for the second time in three days at Yankee Stadium in New York. If this match is anywhere near as exciting as their previous encounter on Thursday night, there is no question that it will be a highly entertaining affair.The two teams met at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Thursday in what was a tale of two halves. Chelsea charged out to a 3-0 lead, but the Citizens battled back and were able to erase the deficit before netting the winning goal in the final seconds. City's 4-3 victory was certainly a great showcase for high-level soccer on the American stage.As big as that match was, their forthcoming meeting at Yankee Stadium is even bigger. Manchester City recently partnered with the New York Yankees as they will co-own an MLS team known as New York City FC, which will begin play in 2015.Man City will absolutely want to put on a show for the New York fans in anticipation of NYCFC, so look for a style of play similar to what they displayed on Thursday.Here is everything you need to know about the second friendly showdown between Manchester City and Chelsea on Saturday, including when and where to watch it as well as which players to keep tabs on. Where: Yankee Stadium, New YorkWhen: Saturday, May 25 at 5:30 p.m.Watch: FOX SoccerLive Stream: Fox Soccer 2 Go (available on tape delay at 11:59 p.m. ET) Rosters (courtesy of Yankees PR Department) Manchester City Player to Watch: Micah RichardsIt's easy to get caught up in Manchester City's offensive talent, as there is plenty of it with players like Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez in attack, but defender Micah Richards was the star on Thursday night. After Man City managed to erase Chelsea's 3-0 lead, Richards scored the game-winning goal in front of a 48,000-strong crowd, according to the official Premier League Twitter account.Richards didn't score a single goal for the Citizens this season, but he provided solid defense and got better as the year went on. It probably isn't fair to expect Richards to score again on Saturday, but Manchester City figure to be even more aggressive than usual in a friendly setting, so it's possible that Richards will jump into the play and take aim.Even if Richards is conservative offensively, though, he will be extremely important from a defensive standpoint. Chelsea has a large stable of offensive stars, and they were on full display early in Thursday's match as they helped Chelsea jump out to a 3-0 lead. Man City were able to shut them down the rest of the way, and Richards' play had a lot to do with that.No matter how Saturday's game is ultimately paced, Richards promises to be a factor. Manchester City will use this match against a top-level opponent to play squad members that are deserving of more playing time. Richards definitely fits into that category, and he proved it on Thursday. Look for more great things from him at Yankee Stadium. Chelsea Player to Watch: Juan MataThere are so many players on Chelsea's roster who can strike at any moment, but there is little doubt that the attack runs primarily through forward Juan Mata. He was fantastic for Chelsea this season as he netted 12 goals and led the team with 12 assists. He plays well with the team's other attackers, and opposing defenders never know if he is looking to shoot or if he is trying to set up a teammate.Mata didn't score on Thursday night, but he was a big factor. He set up Demba Ba's headed goal with a solid cross. After that, he was fouled in the box, which led to a penalty kick and another goal for Chelsea. Mata is always in the middle of things on the pitch, and that was quite apparent on Thursday.Despite Chelsea's disappointing loss, Mata enjoyed his time in St. Louis. He tweeted about the fun atmosphere that the fans provided and even posted a photo that showed how many people were in attendance to support international soccer.If he thought St. Louis offered a great atmosphere,

Kirsten Lodal has a story to tell you. It’s the story of 46 million Americans who live below the poverty line, the courage and conviction that it takes to dig one’s way out of hardship, and how, but for a single catastrophic event, anyone could find themselves in need. As a sophomore at Yale, Lodal co-founded LIFT, an organization that takes a holistic, comprehensive approach to dealing with disadvantage, working with one family at a time to address all of the interconnected factors that keep good people down. Volunteers work one-on-one with clients to secure housing, employment, and basic necessities. “Poverty in America is complex and ever-growing; nearly half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck,” Lodal says. “Yet to date, this issue has failed to mobilize the talent, resources, and most importantly, the ingenuity required to solve it. LIFT believes that this failure is largely due to a public misconception of poverty.” LIFT will soon be launching a national storytelling campaign, hoping to correct the popular myths and stereotypes about poverty, why it exists, and whom it affects. The organization is also working on some starter ideas to pilot later this year, including everything from a LIFTopolis Hackathon to an “It Gets Better”-esque campaign focusing on crowd-sourced stories of vulnerable moments. With programs in Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC and Philadelphia, one of LIFT’s main messages is that the poor and the rest of us need the same things to weather crisis, Lodal says. “The problem is that we’ve built a system to serve poor families that is completely disconnected from the systems we’ve built to support middle and upper income families,” she says. “Too often we focus solely on the economic resources poor families need, and in doing so, we only offer up one of three critical legs of support, support that most of us take for granted.” Get this and more delivered to your home by subscribing to GOOD Magazine at subscribe.good.is. It's just $25 for an annual subscription (21% off the cover price.)

This week started out so well for Red Bulls fans.  You know what – it may still be a great week. I realize at this point I’m just re-reading the last minutes of the Gomorrah Weed Control Commission, but the big controversy Sunday afternoon was, how dare those ne’er-win-wells in Harrison call Landon Effing Donovan “U.S. reject”? In the words of Aristotle, all this has happened before, and all this will happen again.  I myself, in the spirit of full disclosure, said the same thing to Brian Ching, also from the safety of a crowd. Which, now that I think about it, was worse.  Ching had just been dropped from his last chance to play in a World Cup.  Donovan at least has his memories. But here’s the thing.  Landon wasn’t accepting a Hall of Fame induction, or thanking his fans for years of support.  He wasn’t representing the US national team.  He wasn’t retired.  He was on duty for his club.  He stepped out onto the Red Bull Arena field in his professional capacity.  He intended nothing but ill for the New York Red Bulls. Once you accept the premise that spectators can voice negative opinions on the opposition team, and that fan support can have even a minor effect on the game, the question is completely settled.  Red Bulls fans didn’t merely have the right to mock Landon.  They had a duty to.  They had an obligation to. If there was a potential downside, it’s that Donovan is one of the sport’s leading gloaters, and it would have been easy to picture him scoring and taunting the fans into soul-death.  But it was the fans who got to gloat.  All was right with the world, at least for one afternoon. And then, as if timed to harsh Red Bull fans’ collective mellow, came the NYCFC announcement. I suppose I could actually... Keep reading this post at http://www.bigsoccer.com