Four days after a 19-year-old woman was fatally stabbed in front of her twin sister outside a Brooklyn deli, law enforcement officials are still searching for the man accused of killing her when she rejected his advances.

Police identified the man as Veo Kelly, 20, of Brooklyn, Joseph Kenny, the chief of police, told reporters Thursday. He said U.S. marshals are looking for Mr. Kelly, whose criminal history includes an arrest on theft charges.

Early Sunday morning, the woman, Samyia Spain, and her twin brother Sanyia had been up for hours playing games at their father’s apartment with friends. Then the sisters and the rest of the group went to the Natural Plus deli on the corner of Fourth Avenue and St. Marks Place in Park Slope, a favorite spot for the twins where the owners knew them by name.

The friends arrived around 2 a.m., police said. As they waited for food, a group of young, intoxicated men, including Mr. Kelly, approached them, Chef Kenny said. Mr. Kelly began flirting with the twins and insisted on their contact information, police said.

Mr. Kelly had never met the twins and was in Park Slope for a party in a building next to the deli, Chef Kenny said.

When the women sent him away, he became more aggressive. Moments later, the twins’ friends and deli workers pushed him and his companions out of the store and locked the door, a deli employee said. The women and their friends stayed inside to finish their meal.

When they stepped outside, Mr. Kelly was waiting with a knife and attacked the twins, slashing Sanyia in the arm and fatally stabbing Samyia in the chest, police said. Sanyia was treated at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn, where her sister was pronounced dead.

Investigators searched Mr. Kelly’s apartment on Hancock Street in the Stuyvesant Heights neighborhood this week, police said. They found the clothes he was wearing the night Samyia was murdered.

In Park Slope, friends and neighbors were stunned that the twins were attacked, apparently because they refused to give anyone a phone number. Many expressed anger at the owners of the building next to the deli, blaming them for allowing parties where, neighbors said, underage people lined up to drink inside on weekends.

At a vigil on Wednesday evening, more than 100 people gathered outside the deli, many surrounding themselves with the twins’ father, Steven Spain, who cried as he struggled to talk about Samyia.

“How could you take her?” he exclaimed. “I do not understand.”

His friends took turns talking into a megaphone, many of them warning young men nearby that women have the right to stay out late without worrying about being attacked.

Darryl Hobson, pastor and vice president of the 79th Precinct Clergy Council, said he was struck by a young woman who described the pressure she felt to give a man her phone number just so he would leave her alone .

“It just gave me a different perspective on what women in the world are dealing with,” Pastor Hobson, 65, said in an interview Thursday.

The location of Samyia’s death, near the popular deli, was also disturbing, said their neighbor, Najee Wright, 23. It is a popular gathering place for those who live in Wyckoff Gardens, the New York City Housing Authority neighborhood where the twins grew up. , and it’s also close to where their father lives. The deli employees knew their usual orders: Samyia preferred the honey-glazed turkey sandwich, said Mohammed Albaher, a cashier at the store who had known the sisters since they were little girls.

Octavia Bell, the mother of an 18-year-old man who was with the twins that night, said her son is distraught, unable to cry or even talk about what happened.

“I’m really, really scared for him because pain shows up in so many ways,” she said. “I don’t want it to be harmful to him.”

Samyia and Sanyia “practically lived at my house,” Ms. Bell said. Samyia was part of a close group of friends and was part of a cooking club with Mrs. Bell.

Samyia “was my favorite of the group,” Ms. Bell said. “The one with her head on her shoulders, that makes sense to these children.”

In the hours after Samyia was killed, Yvette Ramos, who grew up with the twins’ mother, watched Sanyia cope with her sister’s death. At first, she suppressed her pain to comfort her mother, Lashawn Goodson, whose grief is all-consuming, Ms. Ramos said.

Sanyia was too furious to talk to the police, Ms. Ramos said, and had to be convinced. “I told her, come on, put on your sneakers, we’re going to the police station,” Ms. Ramos said.

Sanyia finally broke down about 24 hours after her sister’s death, Ms. Ramos said.

“She said, ‘Auntie, my sister isn’t here.’ And all I can do is hold her and tell her it’s okay to cry, it’s okay to scream,” Ms. Ramos said.

Police officers in Brooklyn on Monday shot and killed a 20-year-old man who shot at a robber who made off with his wallet, according to three law enforcement officials familiar with the case.

The man, Nathan Scott, shot at a fleeing man and woman after his wallet was stolen, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing an ongoing investigation.

The man who stole Mr. Scott’s wallet later confessed to the theft, one of the officials said. According to an official, Mr. Scott gave chase after he was robbed.

The fatal shooting occurred after four officers in an unmarked car, responding to gunfire around 6 p.m. in East Flatbush, stumbled upon a pursuit, Chief of Police John Chell said at a news conference Monday.

The officers saw the man chasing the couple, “firing several rounds in an attempt to shoot them,” he said.

Mr. Scott was shot several times by the officers and was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he died, authorities said. The shooting is being investigated by the police department’s Force Investigation Division, which investigates officers’ use of deadly force to determine whether officers followed proper protocol.

No one has been charged in the incident, police said. The couple chased by Mr Scott were not injured and their names have not been released. None of the officers were shot, police said.

According to Chief Chell, a handgun was recovered at the scene. A 60-year-old man was also shot twice in the street, he said, but it was unclear by whom.

In porch security camera video shared on social media and in news reports, two people are seen running along a sidewalk as gunshots are heard in the background and someone shouts, “Hey, hey, stop, stop.” Shortly afterwards, a man encounters the frame as a gray sedan pulls up and several shots are fired. The man, possibly Mr. Scott, then collapses.

Four officers can be seen leaving the car and shooting more than ten times in the man’s direction. As they approach the man, officers yell at him not to move as he lies on the ground, and more officers soon arrive on the scene.

The uniformed officers were assigned to the Brooklyn South community response team and assisted officers in the 67th Precinct, Chief Chell said.

Chelsia Rose Marcius reporting contributed.

A 29-year-old man has been charged with killing a 3-year-old Brooklyn boy who was found with head injuries in a bathtub in the building where the child’s mother had left him in the care of a neighbor, police said. Tuesday

The man, Kevin James, is charged with murder, assault and acting in a manner harmful to a child in the death of the boy, Denim Brown, police said. Mr. James was awaiting arraignment Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

Mr. James and the child lived in the same building on New York Avenue in East Flatbush, police said.

Few details were available Tuesday about the circumstances surrounding the killing. Police had previously said that officers responding to a 911 call around 9:45 p.m. Sunday found the boy, who had suffered head trauma, face down in the bathtub and unconscious. He was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

It was initially unclear whether the child’s injuries were accidental or the result of foul play, but the New York City medical examiner subsequently ruled the death a homicide, police said. An autopsy showed that the boy drowned and that his head injuries contributed to his death, said Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office.

Maria Cramer contributed to the reporting.

Brussels, long the realm of stuffy French restaurants full of diplomats in gray flannel suits, has suddenly become bold and cheerful. Thanks to a group of young chefs with iconoclastic ideas about taste and sustainability, the city, which has been captivated by Gaul’s rich sauces for almost two centuries, has become one of the most exciting and affordable places to eat out in Europe. now.

These exciting talents are transforming the city’s old-fashioned bistros and cafés with spices from places like Korea, Latin America and Morocco, “putting a vibrant modern twist on homely local comfort food dishes,” explains Michel Verlinden, a Brussels food writer and restaurant. critic for Le Vif, a major Belgian weekly magazine. At the same time, they make optimal use of local products such as cabbage, carrots, endive and, of course, Brussels sprouts.

Brussels may be the capital of Europe, but gastronomically it feels more like Brooklyn or Marseille. Casual, creative and multicultural, it’s a city that’s equally at home with bulgogi and duck breast – even together in the same dish.

Here are five Brussels restaurants worth a visit.

Anju

Many of the most interesting new restaurants in Brussels cannot be found in Brussels Ilot Sacréthe expensive heart of the city, but also in suburbs Saint-Gillesan evolving but still more affordable area favored by young creatives.

This explains why the chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre selected this area Anju, a new local favorite that explores its roots. Mr. Degeimbre was born in South Korea, but was adopted as a baby by a Belgian family. “Anju” is a Korean word that means food you eat while drinking alcohol. In addition to rice wine and Soju, Anju also offers a “sour Korean” beer, brewed for the restaurant by the Brussels brasserie Illegalalong with a great list of natural wines.

In the minimalist, taupe-colored dining room with K-pop illustrations on the walls, that means hearty comfort food. If starters like pajeon – pancakes stuffed with chopped vegetables and kimchi – or stir-fried octopus tentacles are impressively Korean, the technical skill of Mr. Degeimbre’s team adds an element of Belgian haute cuisine to main courses like Samgyetang (chicken in hot ginseng broth with rice and jujube) and duck breast bulgogi.

Desserts also nod to Brussels: Bingsu, a milk-based shaved ice, is topped with speculoos cookies from House Dandoya bakery from 1832, or hazelnut praline from the famous Belgian chocolatier Pierre Marcolini.

73 Rue de la Source, Saint-Gilles; entrees from 13 euros, or about $14; starters from €17.

Aster

Aster is a good example of how Brussels has left behind the delightful bourgeois decor that used to characterize the best restaurants. When you arrive at this former pizzeria, you immediately walk into the kitchen, where a balletic swarm of chefs led by the chef Túbo Logier buzzing around various grills. Most guests sit at a high refectory table under dangling light bulbs and eat and drink made from handmade ceramics instead of porcelain.

The largely plant-based and seafood tasting menu is served in a series of small plates, which change regularly. A recent dinner opened with an exciting five miniature hors d’oeuvres, including finely chopped North Sea squid in fermented tomato water, a mille-feuille of smoked eel and pickled celeriac, trout with horseradish and fig, a nest of fried julienne leek with a quail egg and small mussels with winter truffles. A surprisingly bright starter of red and yellow beets with cod eggs and beeswax preceded a poached oyster with cabbage and jus de petit lait – or whey – which offered a simple but brilliant confluence of milky flavours.

Another highlight was the langoustines prepared in three ways: roasted with an umami bomb condiment made from fermented vegetable scraps; in a milky broth with strips of clementine and sliced ​​mushrooms; And chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard) topped with meat and juices from the shell of the shellfish.

Mr. Logier’s creativity did not let up as the meal ended with two fascinating desserts: hazelnut ice cream with shaved Belgian blue cheese and apples stewed in seaweed, and a smoked white chocolate mignardise with sea bass eggs.

Antoine Dansaertstraat 202, Brussels; tasting menu, €80.

Klijn

You wouldn’t expect such a disarmingly friendly welcome amid the brutalist chic of artistic Brussels Dansaert districtbut that and the menu of contemporary Belgian comfort food Klijn may give you the feeling that you are in a rural inn.

Kline describes itself as “locally rooted and globally inspired,” which translates to dishes like Brussels sprouts, guacamole and braised pork belly with crispy chili sauce and kimchi. The pork is raised in a traditional way and fed with potato and corn feed, supplemented with olive oil and fresh hay, on a sustainable farm.

Starters such as crispy, round, fried ham croquettes filled with béchamel sauce and finely chopped Ardennes ham and beetroot chutney, with pumpkin seed crackers, are made for sharing. The starters are arranged under two headings: ‘Cold and fresh’ and ‘Hot and heavy’. The offering changes often, but can also include succulent dishes such as North Sea scallops with a carrot emulsion and Belgian saffron, and roasted mushrooms with salsa verde and white mole. The dessert recently included a baked Belle de Boskoop apple with Belgian buffalo mozzarella and miso, a challenging composition that did justice to the ‘Sweet and sour’ section on the menu.

162 Rue de Flandre, Brussels; starters from €9.70; starters from €9.80.

Nyyo

The son of Vietnamese immigrants, Linh Nam grew up in Liège and worked for Google in New York for seven years before returning to Belgium and opening Nyyo, a minimalist restaurant with cocoa-colored walls and rattan hanging lamps. The menu reflects the triptych of culinary influences in Mr. Nam’s life: Belgium, Vietnam and the United States.

The Belgians love steak tartare – they call it filet américain – which probably explains the popularity of the beef tai chanh served here, with the difference that this variation on the dish is flavored with a citrus vinaigrette, Vietnamese coriander, ground peanuts and a quail egg yolk. The bahn mi burger riffs on the sandwich with a slice of chicken liver pate and a beef patty in a toasted sesame brioche bun with aioli, house-made pickles, cilantro and a side of coleslaw, and in Linh’s Tacos, rice flour shells have an oyster mushroom filling seasoned with aioli, cilantro and scallion onion oil.

Finish with a Liège Ca Phe Café, an espresso shot with condensed milk, vanilla ice cream, cognac and cinnamon whipped cream – a sweet hybrid of Belgium and Vietnam.

38 Rue du Bailli, Ixelles; small plates from €10 to €19.

Clock

With its diversity of architectural styles, Brussels sometimes has the endearing atmosphere of an architectural thrift store.

That is also the case for Clockthe French chef Florent Ladeyn‘s airy restaurant with an open kitchen and large windows. Mr. Ladeyn is such an avid locavore that he has banned coffee (chicory is served instead), olive oil, lemons, chocolate, vanilla and almost every other ingredient not produced in Belgium or northern France.

The menu at this casual spot changes often, but can include starters such as sweet potato churros with crispy chili oil, sea snail croquettes, and Brussels sprouts with fried onions and mimolette cheese. As with many new restaurants in Brussels, vegetarians are well catered for, including a delicious main course of grilled turnips and celeriac with beets, black garlic and a Flemish chicory mole. Mr. Ladeyn’s regionalism is also reflected in other main courses, including quail à la Brabançonne – stewed with endive in kriek beer with sour cherry flavor – and roasted French Mont des Cats cheese with fermented honey.

Although many dishes resemble the hearty medieval food depicted on peasant tables Bruegel paintings, their quiet worldliness is a perfect expression of how Brussels likes to eat today.

Rouppeplein 10, Brussels; lunch: starters from €5.50, main courses from €14; dinner: fixed price only, €60.

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A 36-year-old man was in critical but stable condition Friday morning after he was shot in the head aboard a northbound A train as it pulled into the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station in downtown Brooklyn during Thursday evening’s evening rush hour, according to reports the authorities. .

The shooting was the culmination of a terrifying confrontation on a crowded subway train in which an armed man who had threatened another passenger was ultimately shot with his own gun, police said.

The two men did not know each other, police say, and it is not clear how their confrontation began. But the video of the episode, which captures the moments leading up to the shooting, shows the eventual shooting victim, identified by authorities as a 36-year-old man, shouting threats and racial slurs at the other man, 32.

Officials have not released the names of either man. A search was also underway Friday morning for a woman who appeared to have stabbed the older man.

In the video, the 36-year-old man stands over the 32-year-old, walks back and forth in front of him and repeatedly threatens him, saying, “I will beat you up.” Eventually the 32 year old man gets up and they face each other to fight.

The older man wrestles the younger man into a chair, stands over him and punches him. At that moment, a woman rushes forward and appears to stab the older man in the lower back. It is not clear whether the woman knew the younger man before the encounter.

The older man, with blood seeping through his white T-shirt, pulls a gun from his jacket and confronts both the younger man and woman, who head to the end of the subway.

As other panicked drivers run to the other side of the car, the video cuts away from the melee. Gunshots and screams can be heard.

At a news conference Thursday evening, Michael Kemper, the chief of the police department’s transit division, said the younger man ripped the older man’s gun and shot him four times. The younger man was taken into custody but has not yet been arrested.

Chief Kemper said Thursday that authorities had not yet decided whether to charge the 32-year-old or whether his actions would be considered self-defense. As of Friday morning, the man had still not been charged.

A spokesperson for the Brooklyn district attorney’s office said Friday that prosecutors are reviewing the evidence.

In an interview with NY1 on Friday morning, Janno Lieber, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that manages public transportation, called the episode “harrowing.”

“If you’re in that situation, in a subway car and something bad is going on and you’re running for your own safety, that’s just the nightmare for all of us at the MTA,” he said. “That’s a nightmare for New Yorkers.”

The shooting at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station, which is served by the A, C and G trains, occurred a week after Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed hundreds of National Guard members and state troopers to check bags on the subway system. attempt to deter crime and allay riders’ fears. The altercation also came amid growing complaints that the MTA has not done enough to ensure worker safety.

A series of violent episodes in recent years has left some participants in the system on edge.

In 2022, Michelle Alyssa Go was on a subway platform in Times Square when a 61-year-old man pushed her from behind, pushing her to her death in front of a southbound train. Months later, there was a mass shooting on the R train in Brooklyn. More recently, a 45-year-old crossing guard was fatally shot on a Brooklyn train in January after intervening in a fight, and a 35-year-old man was killed and five other people were injured after a fight broke out among teenagers. on a train in the Bronx last month.

In response, officials introduced several anti-crime initiatives in the metros, including adding more police officers and increasing overtime for them, and began removing seriously mentally ill homeless people from the system.

MTA surveys consistently show that some riders view the subway as dangerous, even if the data doesn’t necessarily support that view.

On a post on X Thursday eveningNew York City public advocate Jumaane Williams said he had seen videos of the “terrifying moments” for straphangers and implored Governor Hochul to do more about subway safety.

Chief Kemper said officers at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station, where a police station is located, heard gunshots when the train arrived there Thursday and responded immediately.

Another video posted on X, appears to show the moments when officers respond and find the younger man on his stomach on the stairs near the open subway. As he is led away from the scene in handcuffs, the 36-year-old man can be seen lying on his back through the windows of the subway and appearing to move his head ever so slightly as officers begin to tend to him.

Moments later, the 36-year-old lies on his side and looks at the window, the red mark visible on his back, as officers in white gloves examine him.

A man was shot in the head Thursday evening at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station in downtown Brooklyn, authorities said.

Police responded to the shooting just before 5 p.m., at the height of the evening rush hour. It was unclear whether the man who was shot had a relationship with the attacker, and the motive for the attack was under investigation, a police spokesman said. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.

A person of interest was taken into custody at 5:20 p.m., police said, and a firearm was recovered, at Mayor Eric Adams’ office said on X. The station, served by the A, C and G trains, contains a police post, Transit District 30. As the police investigation continued into the evening, all trains passed through Hoyt-Schermerhorn and the police advised the audience to avoid the station.

The shooting occurred as the safety of the New York City subway system is under intense scrutiny. Last week, Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to check passengers’ bags in an effort to curb crime and, she said, allay New Yorkers’ fears about the system.

Ms. Hochul sent 750 members of the New York National Guard and another 250 personnel from the state police and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to the transit agency in response to a recent spate of violent incidents.

Surveys by the MTA, which operates the subway, consistently show that some riders view the system as dangerous, but the data has not always confirmed the public’s perception. There has been no significant increase in crime in the system, and the chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime is small.

According to a New York Times analysis, there was about one violent crime per million subway rides in mid-2022. Since then, the overall crime rate has fallen and passenger numbers have increased.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Ana Ley reporting contributed.

Manhattan | 100 Claremont Avenue, No. 10C

Morningside Heights Apartment

$1.195 million

A one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment, 800 square feet with an open floor plan, a breakfast bar, a large marble bathroom with double sinks, a walk-in closet, casement windows, central air conditioning and a washer/dryer, on the 10th floor of a new construction project of 41 floors with a live-in manager, super, doorman, basement storage, private parking garage and three floors of amenities including a gym, swimming pool, children’s playroom and library. Danika Dorsey, Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group; 212-246-2100, corcoran.com

Cost

Common charges: $1,295 per month
Taxes: $674 per month

Positives

Beautiful views include the historic Riverside Church. The use of facilities is included in the monthly community contribution.

Cons

Parking lots cost $154,000 plus monthly maintenance fees. Basement storage units start at $31,500 for 150 square feet.

Manhattan | 45 Park Avenue, No. 1501

Murray Hill Apartment

$2.35 million

A two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath apartment, 1,400 square feet with 10-foot ceilings, a separate kitchen with wine refrigerator, an open living/dining room, a master bedroom with a marble en-suite bathroom and a second en-suite bedroom with a murphy bed, Juliet balconies, a vented washer/dryer, zoned central air conditioning and access to basement storage, on the 15th floor of a 21-story 2007 doorman building with a concierge, doorman, live-in super, fitness room, residents’ lounge, private parking garage and roof terrace. Lindsay Barton Barrett, Bradley Rodenberg and Taylor Schultz, Douglas Elliman; 917-363-5521, elliman.com

Cost

Common costs: $2,665 per month
Taxes: $2,442 per month

Positives

The generous floor plan of this well-maintained condo allows for two private bathrooms and a half bath at the entrance. The large windows offer sweeping views of Manhattan, including the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. There is good cupboard space.

Cons

Parking spaces sell privately for about $150,000 or can be rented for about $1,000 per month. The combined monthly common charges and taxes are high.

Brooklyn | 415 Leonard Street, No. 1A

Williamsburg Duplex

$1.5 million

A three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 1,623-square-foot apartment with an open floor plan, a master bedroom with a private windowed bathroom, a second bedroom and a second full bathroom on the top floor; a bedroom with en suite bathroom, walk-in closet and storage space on the lower level; plus washer/dryer connections and central air conditioning, on the first and basement floors of a seven-story building built in 2006 with a part-time doorman, a super, a roof terrace, a children’s playroom, a waiting list for basement storage spaces, private parking garage and a bicycle shed. Marzena Wawrzaszek, SERHANT; 347-543-5039, serhant.com

Cost

Common charges: $1,469 per month
Taxes: $1,193 per month
Ongoing assessment to build reserves: $160 per month

Positives

The building is located across the street from McCarren Park. The owner is selling a parking space in the garage for $50,000 or best offer.

Cons

The closet in the first bedroom is small.

Given the rapid pace of the current market, some properties may no longer be available at the time of publication.

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The townhouse in Bushwick, Brooklyn, was once a beacon for Jennifer Fisher, a place where she did not have to hide that she was polyamorous and kinky, because her housemates were too.

The landlord, a group called Hacienda, had a unique vision: creating a community of sexually adventurous people whose house rules preached consent above all else, particularly during the orgies they threw in the basement every week. Over the years that followed, Hacienda flourished, and sex positivity, a movement to destigmatize different types of sexual expression, became more mainstream. Ms. Fisher felt a measure of pride at being part of a community that had pushed for greater acceptance of her lifestyle.

That feeling helped her ignore what she described as Hacienda’s dark side: a series of claims from guests and tenants who said they were victims of sexual or physical assault under its auspices.

Then, she said, it happened to her. Ms. Fisher was in her kitchen at Hacienda in spring 2012 when she was approached and badgered into sex by a guest of the sex party she had left downstairs, she said. She awoke feeling that she had not given her consent to what had occurred — that she had been raped. Yet a fear of betraying her community, the circumstances of the encounter and its very setting stopped her from reporting it to the authorities, she said. It was a decision she deeply regrets.

“How do you call the police to report something that happened at a sex party?” Ms. Fisher said. “They’d come and say, ‘OK, which deviant do I arrest first?’”

At a time when non-monogamy has become a drop-down option on dating apps, groups like Hacienda have risen to new prominence, drawing in curious newcomers and profiting in the process. Participants envision these groups as a place to push the boundaries of sexual norms — or flout them altogether — in the safe company of like-minded people. But Ms. Fisher’s story and others like it reveal the inherent tension between the desire to create a freewheeling space and questions of consent when one person’s kink can be another’s crossed line.

Navigating this landscape has been particularly fraught for Hacienda, which has capitalized on the sex positivity movement in a way few other groups have, charging rent in a cluster of Brooklyn townhouses to people who want to live in the scene full time.

The founders of Hacienda, a married polyamorous couple known as Andrew and Beth Sparksfire and a personal trainer turned sex educator who goes by the name Kenneth Play, acknowledged Ms. Fisher’s case and others but said that such episodes were outliers in a place that champions consent.

“Our organization is centered around the importance of enthusiastic and continuous consent, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for any violations of these standards,” they said in a statement issued in response to questions from The New York Times. At events held by Hacienda and similar organizations, participants are instructed to continually ask for consent during sexual liaisons, asking permission before kissing or touching partners in any way.

But in interviews, more than two dozen people connected to the club raised questions about whether that policy was working. Ten of those people said they themselves had been physically or sexually abused at Hacienda.

They said the organization had not always taken claims of consent violations seriously and rarely, if ever, reported even the most serious allegations to the authorities, instead making them the subject of often haphazard internal reviews. Sometimes the people conducting the reviews had been sexually involved with the complaining party, the offending party or both, the people said.

In their response to The Times, Hacienda’s leaders acknowledged the complaints but described them as part of a rocky start to creating a safe space during the group’s earliest days. They said they had created safeguards over the years, and, indeed, most of the incidents described to The Times occurred before 2018.

But past and present members expressed deep misgivings over what they described as an enduring culture of impunity for privileged members who have been accused of crossing lines over the years — including the Hacienda co-founder, Mr. Play, who was named by GQ Magazine in 2017 as “the world’s greatest sex hacker.”

“If we think about profits and status over community, that is when it fails,” said Zhana Vrangalova, a sex educator and former Hacienda member who left after a falling out. “Hacienda, it’s utopia in one way, but we have to be clear: There is no utopia.”

In their statement, Mr. Play and the Sparksfires emphatically denied any wrongdoing. They said Hacienda now used sex party monitors known as “guardians” and made consent orientations mandatory for all guests. They said any complaints were swiftly elevated to them.

“We vehemently deny any notion of Hacienda as an organization that harbors or protects individuals who do not practice consent or violate fellow members in any way,” the statement said.

Most people interviewed for this article — including those who said they were victimized — described Hacienda in overwhelmingly positive terms, saying it offered a refuge from judgment.

“It eliminates the stigma behind sexuality in general,” said Tatyannah King, a writer who said she had never experienced a problem at Hacienda and that the parties helped her grow in confidence. “You just have no choice but to be emotionally naked just as you might be actually naked.”

But even Hacienda’s fans acknowledged a reluctance to speak ill of the group for fear of jeopardizing a cornerstone of their lifestyle.

“These spaces are the opposite of black and white,” said Effy Blue, a former Hacienda member who designed one of the organization’s early consent policies about a decade ago. “You need the social awareness of a brain surgeon to leave the space unscathed and never hurt someone and never be hurt.”

The SoHo House of Sex

Across the city in recent years, sex parties have emerged from whisper networks to become the stuff of slick websites and wait lists.

With names like House of Scorpio, Chemistry and NSFW, some cater to heterosexual people, while others are queer spaces or focus on kinks like latex or bondage. The events take place in rented hotel ballrooms, townhouses and nightclubs from Brooklyn to the Bronx. Within their walls, public sex is referred to as a “scene,” sexual contact is referred to as “playing” and participants go by “scene names.”

Few groups have Hacienda’s profile. Its leaders have emerged as ambassadors of sex positivity, with a goal of making Hacienda into the sex club equivalent of SoHo House — an international members-only club.

Hacienda started more than a dozen years ago as a clandestine sex party at the Brooklyn townhouse of Mr. Sparksfire, whose real name is Andrew Cray. A securities analyst from England, he was newly divorced and had begun to explore his sexuality, he said in a podcast interview.

About a decade ago, the residential element was born. Hacienda’s real estate portfolio now comprises at least three Bushwick townhouses and a New Orleans villa. Most of the properties are owned by Mr. Sparksfire; the New York buildings can hold more than two dozen tenants, according to information formerly on Hacienda’s website. The organization is run jointly by Mr. Sparksfire and his wife, whose real name is Elizabeth Pelletier and whose email address identifies her as Hacienda’s “Queen,” and their co-founder, Mr. Play, a.k.a. Kenneth Yim, a sometime personal trainer.

Hacienda makes money from yearly memberships costing about $130 apiece, as well as party tickets and rental income. Residents pay between $750 and $1,500 or more monthly for rooms in its cushy brownstones, according to real estate listings. At least one brownstone has a basement “sex dungeon.” Hacienda also rents space to other “play parties,” which pay several thousand dollars to use amenities like its spanking benches and outdoor hot tub.

Its leaders are outspoken about their belief that Hacienda is not a real estate venture but a social cause: a bastion of inclusion, even a model for bucking American prudishness. It is a belief many tenants ardently share.

“Our goal is to create an environment where people can learn, gather and responsibly enjoy and explore their sexuality,” the club’s leadership said in its statement to The Times.

Hacienda’s orgies follow a script used at sex parties across the city: Guests must read the house rules and sit through a brief consent orientation.

At Hacienda and other parties, observers — in essence the orgy’s hall monitors — stand by to make sure no lines are crossed. Disallowed behavior can range from leering to “stealthing” — a man secretly removing a condom without permission. Rule breakers are blacklisted.

Claims of consent violations arise from time to time at sex parties across the city, according to organizers, who say they have usually been handled internally. On Facebook groups, Discord chats and Google Docs shared with The Times, partygoers swap names of alleged consent violators with the stated purpose of keeping each other safe.

But perhaps no organization has the prominence — and business portfolio — of Hacienda, and the esteem of its leaders has become a special draw. Mr. Play, for example, has given lectures, written books and appeared in more than 100 news articles, according to his website, where he also sells a $697 online course on improving sexual technique.

Crossing lines

In his books and sex demonstrations, Mr. Play emphasizes the importance of always obtaining consent. But he has also been accused of violating that rule.

About a decade ago, a woman said she was visibly intoxicated and unable to consent when Mr. Play publicly performed sex acts on her at a party. In their statement to The Times, Hacienda’s leadership acknowledged the encounter but said it was consensual. They called the woman’s allegations “unfounded and untrue.”

“I stand wholeheartedly with victims of assault and never want to discredit a woman’s experience or stifle her voice,” Mr. Play said, but added: “I take solace in knowing that the facts and truth are on my side.”

Because of the accusation, Mr. Play has been barred from at least three other sex parties across New York City, according to their organizers. The allegation bitterly divided Hacienda, according to interviews with several community members, causing an exodus of some who felt that the Sparksfires’ personal loyalties to Mr. Play — he was a romantic partner of Ms. Sparksfire’s — and his brand were trumping member safety.

Other people involved with Hacienda over the years have been similarly accused of crossing lines.

Ten people told The Times they experienced physical or sexual abuse within Hacienda’s walls ranging from assault to rape. Some of the people who complained said Hacienda brought in a lawyer who offered mediation services — despite the lawyer being a Hacienda member.

Two of the people, both women, said they reported being slammed against walls by different partygoers who faced few consequences despite the complaints. Three other people said they reported threatening behavior by other sex party guests, but felt the complaints were brushed aside. One said her identity was revealed to the person she had accused.

And four people said that one former Hacienda resident — who went by the scene name Scary Ben — punched or brutally bit them during sex or removed condoms without consent.

Scary Ben’s behavior so concerned a group of female residents at Hacienda in 2012 that they convened a meeting to discuss him. When a Hacienda organizer learned of it, he took no action against the man, whose real name is Ben Doray, but excoriated the women in an email chain that included the Sparksfires.

“All it takes is for one motivated individual at one of these ‘symposiums’ to seek council of an attorney and sue us,” the organizer wrote, according to emails obtained by The Times. “They are discussing issues of nonconsent and risky behavior.”

Mr. Doray was still living in one of the brownstones about two years later, when another resident, Kristin Stadelmann-Ferreira, said he raped her in her room at the Hacienda Villa on Troutman Street.

She said Mr. Doray, a surrealist clown and burlesque performer who was known at Hacienda for his intense spanking demonstrations, forced her to have sex while she was wearing a tampon.

Ms. Stadelmann-Ferreira, who was romantically involved with Mr. Doray, said she told leadership about the episode but was ignored, in part, she said, because of her own erratic behavior. Shortly after the encounter with Mr. Doray, Ms. Stadelmann-Ferreira, who has schizophrenia, said she had a breakdown and ran naked onto Troutman Street. She was hospitalized for psychiatric care.

Asked to respond to the allegations of Ms. Stadelmann-Ferreira and others, Mr. Doray declined to comment.

In their statement, the Hacienda leaders said Ms. Stadelmann-Ferreira never brought the accusation to them but said their community rallied around her during her breakdown. In an interview, Ms. Stadelmann-Ferreira gratefully acknowledged the support but insisted that she had raised the complaint.

The organization’s leaders said they were not aware of any allegations against Mr. Doray until another woman publicly accused him of rape in 2015. They immediately banned Mr. Doray from events and began steps to end his tenancy at Hacienda, they said. He moved out four months later.

Despite the incident, Ms. Stadelmann-Ferreira still speaks highly of Hacienda and its leaders.

“We were trailblazers,” she said. “But it is important that we point out where leadership has gone wrong in the past. They can learn from our mistakes.”

Hacienda’s leadership has said it has grown safer in response to episodes like this.

But the most recent one described to The Times occurred in February 2020. It involved a nonbinary person who said another partygoer choked her without consent at a Hacienda party.

The person, Charlie Bentley, who uses she/her pronouns, said she complained to an event organizer, René Bolanos, but was reproached for raising her voice, according to Mx. Bentley and text messages she shared from Mr. Bolanos. The other partygoer faced no consequences, Mx. Bentley said. Mr. Bolanos said he recalled being approached at the party by Mx. Bentley, who was weeping, but insisted that she did not tell him why she was upset.

“If I had known about the incident at the party, I would have immediately raised the issue with the organizers and provided any support I could to Charlie,” Mr. Bolanos said. “I regret that I was unaware of the situation at the moment, and so I couldn’t act quickly for them, but I truly understand and empathize with how hard it would have been to voice such trauma right after it occurred.”

Mx. Bentley, 31, said she considered calling the authorities. But she was faced with the same difficult decision as others who felt they had been victimized in a place they cared about deeply.

“I sat there debating with myself: Do I call police?” Mx. Bentley said. “But I thought, These are my friends, I can’t do that to them. This is their business.”

She did not call the police.

Susan C. Beachy contributed research.

Manhattan | 138 Edgecombe Avenue, No. 1A

Central Harlem Garden Duplex

$700,000

A one-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom duplex, 900 square feet at garden level, with a large foyer, an eat-in kitchen with integrated dishwasher, a full bathroom, a bedroom and a balcony on the ground floor. first level; and a living room, office nooks, half bath, washer and vented dryer hookup on the lower level; plus a private backyard, ample storage and mini-split heating and air conditioning, in a five-story pre-war building with a virtual intercom. Laura Cook, Keller Williams NYC 917-935-8140; knyc.com

Cost

Common charges: $614 per month
Taxes: $95 per month

Plus points

This spacious maisonette is well maintained. The apartment has its own boiler and the bedroom has soundproof windows.

Cons

The bedroom windows open to the sidewalk. There is no fence separating the backyard from the neighbors.

Manhattan | 128 West 26th Street, #12

Chelsea Apartment

$2.395 million

A 1,300 square foot apartment with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open floor plan, a wine refrigerator in the kitchen, a master bedroom with en suite bathroom with double sinks and dressing room, bathroom floors with radiant heat, casement windows, a washer/dryer connection, zoned heating and air conditioning, a balcony and direct elevator access, occupies the entire 12th floor of a 14-storey new development with a virtual doorman, a super and a roof terrace. Aaron Mazor, Ryan Zeiger and Kelsey Hiscano, 917-696-8772, Compass; compass.com

Cost

Common charges: $3,149 per month
Taxes: $1,060 per month

Plus points

The spacious balcony is adjacent to the master bedroom.

Cons

A closet is missing in the third bedroom.

Brooklyn | 970 Kent Avenue, No. G10

Bedford Stuyvesant Loft

$1.15 million

A 1,000-square-foot, one-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with 10-foot ceilings, a primary suite with a walk-in closet, washer/dryer, patio, ample storage, and air conditioning with window units. at the garden level of a converted nine-storey pre-war factory with a doorman, a concierge, a live-in super, a waiting list for basement lockers, a bicycle shed, a gym and a courtyard. Gerald Magpily, Nest Seekers International, 917-664-0657; nestseekers.com

Cost

Common costs: $1,033 per month
Taxes: $833 per month
Ongoing assessment to build reserves: $280 per month

Plus points

This sunny and spacious apartment was modernized in 2022.

Cons

The hallway outside the apartment lacks charm.

Given the rapid pace of the current market, some properties may no longer be available at the time of publication.

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