No matter what happens in New York, a contest goes about (2,3,5)
I believe the answer is:
in any event
'no matter what happens' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'in new york a contest goes about' is the wordplay.
'new york' becomes 'ny'.
'contest' becomes 'event' (event can mean a sporting competition).
'goes about' is an insertion indicator.
'a'+'event'='aevent'
'ny' placed into 'aevent' is 'anyevent'.
'in'+'anyevent'='IN ANY EVENT'
(Other definitions for in any event that I've seen before include "How one might describe a decathlete's skill" , "Where all-round sportsman may compete" , "Regardless of circumstances" , "Where the athletic all-rounder may be found" , "A versatile athlete may be" .)