
Popular DJ who vanished 3 weeks ago ID'd as man found dead on NYC houseboat: sources
Reda Briki, 52, was found unconscious and unresponsive by an acquaintance in the cabin of a boat docked at Railroad and Greenpoint avenues in Newton Creek Marina Sunday afternoon, sources said.
The electronic dance music producer, who co-founded Love that Fever, was pronounced dead at the scene, though friends – who launched an exhaustive search after he was last seen on June 14 – believe he died weeks ago.
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3 DJ Reda Briki seated on an ornate chair.
DJ Reda Briki/Facebook
'We are heartbroken to share that Reda Briki passed away in June 2025,' friend Tim Fielding wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday, remembering the musicians 'multiple talents, positive attitude, amazing skillset and cheeky humor.'
'This news may come as a shock, and we know Reda meant many things to many people – a friend, a brother, a fellow creative spirit. He had a wild and beautiful energy, and he moved through the world in his own unique way. He made a lot of people happy with his music,' he continued.
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'On a personal note, it was just 5 weeks ago he was with me, rocking in a festival in Devon, taking people on a deep tribal house journey, living his best life. Gone too soon. Safe travels back to the music, brother. RIP.'
Briki may have died about a week before his decomposed corpse was discovered, sources said, adding that he suffered no apparent signs of trauma and is not immediately believed to be the victim of a crime.
3 The 52-year-old DJ was discovered unconscious and unresponsive on board a docked boat.
Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
The Medical Examiner's office did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.
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For nearly three weeks, friends and fans plastered fliers and flooded social media in a desperate effort to find Briki, who they said was last seen DJing at Maison Harlem, a French bistro in West Harlem.
Briki, who hailed from the French Algiers, was widely regarded as a trailblazer of electronic dance music during his nearly 20 years in the business, according to his website.
3 DJ Reda Briki was last seen on June 14, according to missing posters plastered on social media.
DJ Reda Briki/Facebook
'Originally from French Algiers but coming of age in Parisian club culture, Reda was surrounded by a world of rich electric influences of tribal percussion, pumping rhythms, pulsing beats and thumping grooves,' his bio says.
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'This rich exposure laid the groundwork for Reda's fervent pursuit of making house music his lifelong calling. With over 18 years behind the decks, Reda's powerful skill for pushing musical boundaries has become known through his original music and event productions.'
Sunday's discovery marks the fourth body recovered from Newton Creek in the last two years.
Police, who have not publicly identified Briki, said the investigation is ongoing.

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Boston Globe
27 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
An ancient scourge on a modern Chinese fishing boat
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Eventually assignments came through and, in September 2019, Aritonang appeared in a Facebook photo with other Indonesians waiting in Busan, South Korea, to board their fishing vessels. 'Just a bunch of not-high-ranking people who want to be successful by having a bright future,' Aritonang posted on Facebook. Aritonang and Anhar boarded the Zhen Fa 7, which set sail across the Pacific. The ship's crew numbered 30 men: 20 from China, and the remaining 10 from Indonesia. The vessel was scheduled to spend the next several months chasing squid in international waters off the coast of South America. In December, 2020, the Zhen Fa 7 left the vicinity of the Galapagos Islands, sailed around the southern tip of South America, through the Strait of Magellan, and made its way north to an immensely productive high-seas squid fishery known as the Blue Hole, about 360 miles above the Falkland Islands. The bounty was plentiful there, and the captain began working his crew around the clock. A month later, Aritonang fell severely ill. According to a forensic pathologist who examined his autopsy report at the request of the Outlaw Ocean Project, he probably suffered from a disease called beriberi, caused by a deficiency of vitamin B1, also known as thiamine. Daniel Aritonang lies on a stretcher with swollen feet, a telltale sign of beriberi caused by nutrition deficiency. Jesica Reyes Sometimes called 'rice disease,' and often an indication of conditions of captivity, beriberi has historically broken out on ships and in prisons, asylums, and migrant camps — anywhere diets have consisted mainly of white rice or wheat flour, both very poor sources of thiamine. On board the Zhen Fa 7, the captain issued each Indonesian two boxes of Supermi instant noodles per week for free. The costs for any additional snacks, coffee, alcohol, or cigarettes were deducted from their salaries. The Indonesians were paid $250 per month, along with a $20 bonus per ton of squid caught. Related : The Indonesians on board begged the captain to get Aritonang onshore for medical attention, but the captain refused. Later, when asked to explain the captain's refusal, Anhar, Aritonang's friend and crewmate, said, 'There was still a lot of squid. We were in the middle of an operation.' By February 2021, Aritonang could no longer stand. He moaned in pain, slipping in and out of consciousness. Incensed, the Indonesian crew threatened to strike and the captain finally acquiesced. The Chinese squid jigger Zhe Pu Yuan 98 doubles as a floating hospital to treat deckhands without bringing them to shore. Ben Blankenship/The Outlaw Ocean Project On March 2, Aritonang was transferred to a nearby fuel tanker called the Marlin, which dropped him off in Montevideo six days later. By then it was too late. 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Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Princess Kate's Best Cape Dress Looks, So Far
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New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
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