A genius real estate broker, Burning guy and a scandal in NYC’s sex-positive community

Leon Feingold stepped down from polyamory leadership jobs

Leon Feingold (Credit: Twitter)

Inside the days as a competitive eater, Leon Feingold performed beneath the nom-de-guerre “Justice. ” Now people in New York’s polyamory community accuse him of just the alternative.

Feingold — a person with an IQ of 168, previous expert baseball player, trained attorney, present real-estate broker, Burning guy enthusiast, Freemason, three-time participant into the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating world championships that are contest in Coney Island and general general public face of brand new York’s polyamory motion — is fighting accusations which he had been too sluggish to get rid of a guy accused of intimate attack through the community.

At the time of final thirty days, he isn’t any longer part regarding the leadership of Open adore nyc, a business that runs academic and social occasions for polyamorous New Yorkers. Within the week-end he announced their resignation “from all leadership functions in the intercourse positive community. ” He could be additionally presuming a lower part in brand New York hazardous, an organization that organizes a yearly camp during the Burning Man music event and it has a lot more than 2,000 people on Facebook.

Feingold’s critics claim he hesitated to ban a person accused of actually abusing females from polyamory activities and permitted him to become listed on their camp at Burning Man this current year. In Twitter feedback, a few females accused the guy, that is recognized for arranging rope-bondage classes, of a few assaults. They accused him of undesirable conduct during intercourse; biting one of is own victims that are alleged and presumably throwing an other woman down a journey of stairs. They stated Feingold knew of some of the accusations for over per year but kept permitting the alleged perpetrator to join social activities. (Because no costs may actually have already been filed by so-called victims, the real thing isn’t pinpointing the accused guy. )

Lila Kay, whom described by herself as an associate of the latest York that is dangerous, stated that while she actually is “physically ill that more and more people have already been harmed” because of the so-called perpetrator, no attack took place during the camp it self. She included that the team took actions to guarantee the “errors of 2017 will never be duplicated. ” She stated that Feingold made a blunder and she welcomed his stepping down but additionally thought Feingold showed “sound judgment” in several other instances as being a camp frontrunner over time.

The other day, Feingold published an at-times protective teen cams post on Twitter, acknowledging which he needs to have eliminated the person sooner, but advertised that demands him to step down from leadership roles also to be blacklisted from polyamorous activities amounted to “character assassination” and a “misguided witch hunt. ” Feingold reported which he flagged the person’s behavior to other people within the community’s leadership and acted gradually in component because he didn’t desire to “ring a bell that cannot be unrung, destroying a man’s reputation without due procedure. ” He additionally blamed his errors in component in the undeniable fact that he’s from the Autism range.

Feingold declined become interviewed with this story, however in a declaration delivered to TRD this week, he published: “I regret making statements that have been hurtful or dismissive; almost all of my critique originated in individuals attempting to protect our community. Their hearts had been into the Right Put and I also should not have reacted therefore defensively. But it was their projections onto my actions I challenged while I understand and share their passion for safety. Maybe perhaps maybe Not their form of occasions. ”

The post spawned an on-line debate with a huge selection of responses. Some sprang to their protection. “Leon we give you support (…) and n’t know you would hurt a fly in the event that you didn’t want to, ” had written one commenter. Others piled onto him. “WOMEN’S BODIES AREN’T EXPERIMENTS FOR THE LEADERSHIP LEARNING PROCESS, ” one alleged victim had written to Feingold.

TRD reached off to many of Feingold’s experts also to alleged victims, nevertheless they all declined to comment or failed to react. A representative for Open adore New York (OLNY) confirmed that Feingold isn’t any longer a part associated with group’s leadership and that the predator that is alleged prohibited from OLNY for complaints about their behavior which were examined and confirmed. ”

On Saturday, Feingold published another Facebook post announcing their resignations and acknowledging which he “screwed up time that is big and has now “a great deal to apologize and atone for. ”

A few of Feingold’s defenders remarked that he has received a year that is difficult. In October 2016, Feingold got engaged. About an after the engagement his fiancee was diagnosed with terminal cancer week. She passed away in March. Tuesday prior to her death the couple founded the charity Church of Good Deeds, which has raised $51,796 from 769 donors as of.

A pitcher that is former their state University of brand new York Albany, Feingold played expert baseball into the small leagues as well as in Israel (which attained him a snarky we we blog post on Deadspin). The 44-year-old nyc native runs the tiny Manhattan domestic brokerage Masonic Realty.

The organization seems to be a show that is one-man. StreetEasy shows seven apartment product sales and 34 leasing handles Feingold as detailing agent — mostly little apartments in Manhattan. It presently has one listing that is active based on StreetEasy: a one-bedroom Apartment On West 72nd Street asking $679,000.

He could be most commonly known to be a general public face of the latest York’s polyamory motion.

In 2015, he held a TED talk describing the polyamorous life style. It offers since clocked significantly more than 80,000 views on YouTube. That exact exact same 12 months nyc magazine posted an interview with Feingold titled “ just exactly just What it is choose to be considered a polyamorous genius. ” “You understand, there’s this thing called ‘New York single. ’ Until you’ve had ‘the conversation, ’ you assume individuals are seeing other folks, ” he told the mag. “So, no one had a challenge because we never talked about exclusivity. Every person I became dating had one thing to provide. Some had been gorgeous. Some had been smart. Some had been fun. Some had been really intriguing. Some liked to attend parties that are certain. Therefore seeing therefore people that are many a lot of areas of my mind and I also really was satisfied with it. ”

Fratty web site Brobible published a directory of the meeting underneath the headline “Meet the man with 168 IQ whom dates as much as a dozen ladies once — but just for their minds. ” Feingold also came out when you look at the HBO documentary “Americans during intercourse. ”

He popped up within the tabloids once the real-estate broker for the 15-bedroom “Hacienda Villa” in Bushwick, a home for polyamorous renters. “It’s not a sex-fest. It is maybe perhaps Not a location in the future to get your freak on, ” he told the newest York everyday Information in 2015. “It’s a location in the future house to. ”

The perpetrator that is alleged that is additionally a licensed real-estate broker, declined to comment.