NYC Council to weigh regulating Times Square hustlers

The New York City Council is taking the first legislative steps to regulate the proliferation of topless painted women, costumed characters and others who hustle for tips in Times Square’s pedestrian plazas.

A bill being introduced Wednesday afternoon would authorize the city Department of Transportation to establish rules for activity in the plazas — which could mean those street entertainers regarded as nuisances as well as assorted peddlers are confined to a designated area or driven away entirely.

“We want to set out some areas where you can conduct different types of behavior in Times Square — places where you can engage with a costumed character if you wish, and places where you can avoid them if that is your preference,” said Council member Daniel Garodnick (D-Manhattan), a sponsor of the bill.

There are currently 49 such plazas in the city that would fall under the regulation and 22 more in the works. But the Times Square scene — and complaints about aggressive harassment of tourists and passers-by — has become the catalyst for action.

“We need to bring a little order to the chaos out there,” Garodnick said before introducing the bill.

The legislation follows the general recommendations of a blue-ribbon committee the mayor formed last year following news stories about the topless women, known as desnudas, who paint their bodies and seek tips for posing for photos.

Under the proposed law, local constituencies, such as community boards, council members and borough presidents would have a say in how the plazas are used, but the transportation agency would have ultimate rule-making authority, Garodnick said.

The bill authorizes the transportation commissioner to consider factors such as “public safety,” “the need to create or maintain the aesthetics or special character . . . and its surroundings,” and “the need to regulate commercial activity or expressive matter.”

The state’s highest court has ruled that a woman has a right to be topless in public, but the judges also allowed regulations on public toplessness for commercial purposes.

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan), who controls the flow of legislation, did not lay out a timetable for council action. “It’s definitely something that is being discussed right now,” she said.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.