Wealth bondage in Manhattan

Bondage Princess, originally uploaded by mivox.

Way back amidst the Givewell controversy (oh, so long ago . . . ), Gifthub took a bit of heat for its use of bondage metaphors. As this news story indicates, though, wealth bondage is an all too real phenomenon here in Gotham.

Good news about the man who was found in respiratory distress while suspended from the ceiling at a Midtown S&M club on Friday. . . .

The retiree (named in the Post, but not in the News), was apparently a regular at the Nutcracker Suite, an S&M club on East 33rd Street. He had a choker around his neck, and the choker was suspended by a rope from the ceiling. He was also wearing a hood, nipple clamps and high heeled shoes. His dominatrix had been checking on him at regular intervals, but at one point, his hands seemed blue, so 911 was called. The Post reports that the man "began choking when one of his feet slipped out of the tall shoe." Police are looking into whether to press charges of negligence.

The president of a business in the same building, Janet Benshoof of the Global Business Center, summed up the clientele to the Daily News: "A steady stream of bankers, lawyers, doctors, going to the ninth floor. It was like Guantanamo for sexual deviants. It was Abu Ghraib in Manhattan, but for pleasure."

And the man's wife told the News, "He comes down to visit once in a while," adding, "I thought New York was safe."