Gov. Cuomo: Time Square's topless women are breaking the law

Jennifer Calfas | USA TODAY

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday women posing topless for photos in Times Square are breaking the law.

The women, who wear paint, thongs and patriotic accessories, pose with visitors and charge for photos. The governor told NY1 he believes “this activity is illegal” and “needs to be stopped.” His comments follow New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's call on Tuesday to seek more regulations on solicitors in the popular tourist destination.

“This is supposed to be a tourist attraction, family friendly, the new New York symbol,” Cuomo said.

The women call themselves "desnudas," which is Spanish for “naked,” according to The New York Times. De Blasio said the women fall under the same category as the people who dress as different characters — such as Elmo, Olaf from Disney’s Frozen and superheroes — and ask for money for photos.

Although being topless is legal in New York, forceful loitering and panhandling are not, according to state law. De Blasio said Tuesday the women's artistic expression is protected by the First Amendment — but their panhandling requires more regulation.

“The women in Times Square, or the furry creatures in Times Square, are engaged in a business,” de Blasio said. “We believe that that opens the door for us to enforce the way we would any other business, and we will do so, while still respecting constitutional rights.”

More than 300,000 pedestrians pass through Times Square each day, according to the Times Square Alliance, an organization that promotes business in the district. Alliance president Tim Tompkins says the women and characters are "aggressive" and "inappropriate."

"The bigger issue is not really about the naked ladies, per se, but a whole series of unregulated and uncontrolled aggressive hustlers who are taking advantage of both tourists and locals in Times Square," Tompkins said.

Tompkins cited several instances in the past few months, including a person dressed as the "Cookie Monster" from Sesame Street who groped a 16-year-old girl and a man dressed as Spiderman who fought with a pedestrian last week.

Tompkins says the alliance and the city are in the early stages of working on a solution.

"Times Square has always been a bellwether about people’s concerns about the quality of life in the city," he said. "Now that Times Square is sliding into chaos … people are concerned in a large way that this is indicative of the state of the city."