The WNBC.com headline says it all: "Man Critical After Being Suspended From Ceiling At S&M Club." And before he was taken to St. Vincent's, he was found "bound and suspended from a ceiling while wearing women's high heels and a neck choker." The Post now says he may have suffered brain damage due to the lack of oxygen!
The incident occurred at East 33rd domination club Nutcracker Suite/ Hmm, could it have been in the inquisition lair? It's described as an "intimate room...perfect for hanging the leather-strap cage - a delightful immobilization device that renders you helpless and undeniably exposed. An alcove containing the suspension rig and bondage table gives one a view of the wrought-iron candelabra that flank the Inquisition throne... until the rich, velvet drapes are drawn, sealing your fate."
The police believe this was an accident, because the man seemed to be a consensual client, but are investigating because of the extent of the man's injuries. Workers, who have been cooperating with authorities, had been checking on the man at regular intervals, but at one point, the man "was discovered in apparent respiratory distress" with blue hands.
Dan Savage sounds disappointed - he wrote:
"It’s dangerous to leave a tied-up person alone—every kinkster knows that—and you would think that the staff of New York City’s legendary Nutcracker Suite, a world-famous domination studio, would know better than to leave a tied-up client alone...Perhaps you can leave someone alone—briefly, and so long as they’re within earshot—if your bondage partner is simply tied to a bed, or comfortably strapped to a bondage board, or locked in a cage. Your “victim” can feel isolated and helpless, if that’s what turns ‘em on, and you can be back in a flash if he or she starts to panic and call out or, you know, if there’s a sudden and unexpected earthquake or electrical fire. But it’s absolutely nuts to leave someone alone in suspension bondage."
Since the man didn't have any ID on him, the police are "using his MetroCard to try to track his movements and identify him" (Post). And the dominatrix he was working with, Taki Noriko, said it was an "accident," and that she elevated him only enough (with his feet on the floor still) to cause some pain.
