Clay Felker, founder of New York magazine – a publication he once described as a guide to “how the power game is played, and who are the winners” – died this morning at his home in Manhattan. He was 82 and had been battling cancer of the throat and mouth. Felker started New York in 1964 as a Sunday supplement to The New York Herald Tribune; when that paper folded he collaborated with graphic designer......

An amusement park ride inspector warns that some of the rides at Coney Island are so dangerous they should not be open for business. Last summer a man died after surgery to heal vertebrae fractured on the Cyclone, but the rides now targeted by “amusement-safety consultant” Walt Reiss don’t include the famous wooden roller coaster. Reiss, who has previously trained New York City ride inspectors, tells the Post that the “Swingout” ride is so unsafe......

Last summer was a rough one for some riders of the 81-year-old Coney Island Cyclone; the Post reports that at least seven people were injured throughout the season while riding the roller coaster. According to Astroland operator Carole Albert’s website, the ride “has the highest safety standards in the outdoor amusement industry,” and in order to maintain that perception, Albert’s been trying to quietly settle the ensuing lawsuits out of court. The injured riders......

A 35-year-old man died this week after ingesting a small chunk of an illegal aphrodisiac made from toad venom. According to the AP, the unidentified victim went to the hospital complaining of chest and abdominal pains; doctors identified the problem but were unable to treat him and he died after two days! Health officials say his death was caused by a hardened resin, made partly from venom collected from toads of the Bufo genus, which......

Groundbreaking postwar artist Robert Rauschenberg died last night at the age of 82. The adventurous painter, photographer, printmaker, choreographer, set designer and composer was born Milton Ernest Rauschenberg on Oct. 22, 1925, in Port Arthur, Texas, a small refinery town with little cultural stimuli. (In his adult life he took the name Robert.) His father worked for a local utility, and the family’s lifestyle was so financially tight that, according to the Times, Rauschenberg’s mother......

Photo of Marvin Sylvor's Bryant Park Carousel courtesy WallyG. World renowned merry-go-round designer Marvin Sylvor has saddled up for the great carousel in the sky following a kidney failure. He was 75. The Bronx-born Sylvor’s love for the fanciful rides dated back to his childhood, when his father, hell-bent to get to Rockaway beach, would always refuse to stop so the young Sylvor could ride a carousel near the Marine Park Bridge. Sylvor found his......