A travel advertisement aired on the radio in Italy states that it is "perfectly legal" to be topless in New York City; is this true?
The ad doesn't say anything else useful to the question.
1 Answer
Yes it is perfectly legal.
This is based on the Santorelli case, in which Ramona Santorelli was arrested for baring in public "that portion of the breast which is below the top of the areola". She was acquitted after the case went to the New York Court of Appeals (the highest court in New York) in 1992 on the grounds of equal protection. Since then there have been many similar cases decided the same way.
In February 2013, the New York City Police Department issued a command to all its officers through their daily roll call. It reminded officers that they are not to cite or arrest a woman for public lewdness, indecent exposure or any other section of the Penal Law for “simply exposing their breasts in public".
There are plenty of references for this:
answered Dec 11, 2014 at 14:08
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13@Ciacciu There is similar case law in Ontario. You'd be wrong if you imagined that women (or men) often take advantage of this law: i.e. although it's legal it is socially so unusual that it's basically non-existent.– ChrisWCommented Dec 11, 2014 at 14:26
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5Also, much like many activities that are legal in and of themselves, they can be cited as aspects of illegal activities if they are needlessly disruptive. Much like the difference between free speech and yelling "fire" in a crowded movie theater, I believe there have been people cited for being confrontational with their toplessness since the ruling. Commented Dec 11, 2014 at 15:21
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3@Ciacciu Yes, I added that not because it's a bad question but because the source of the claim was a "travel advertisement": an advertisement which said, "go to New York because it's legal to be topless there" would be a bit deceptive as well as being true. The case law happens because of equal rights: i.e. because it's not illegal for men therefore it's not illegal for women.– ChrisWCommented Dec 11, 2014 at 15:30
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4@DVK: Because some people aren't quite as wild as they want people to think they are. :)– cHaoCommented Dec 11, 2014 at 16:18
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14@Ciacciu A law saying it's legal for women to be topless didn't "come into being". Instead what happened was: a) "Equal Protection Clause" passed as a constitutional amendment in the 19th century; b) woman arrested and convicted for violating "Penal Law § 245.01 (exposure of a person)"; c) on appeal, argues to the appeal court that law § 245.01 is unconstitutional because it violates the "Equal Protection Clause"; d) appeal court agrees and overturns the conviction. It's case law, i.e. precedent.– ChrisWCommented Dec 11, 2014 at 17:38
perfectlylegal, depending on how "perfectly" is defined. Toplessness in and of itself is legal. If done to demonstrate lewdness or incite public disturbance or similar, then toplessness can be cited as a cause. It can depend on total circumstances. And New York is similar to many other places in that respect.