WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz
District 32 Bronx County, New York
Make Toplessness in Public Illegal for Everyone
You should know that some time ago, Times Square used to be the pits of the nation where criminals, drug dealers, prostitutes and all kind of sordid behavior could be found in the area.
Times Square was a haven for open prostitution, commercialized sex, selling and using drugs. There were used condoms all over the place. People were afraid to take their families – especially children to Times Square because they didn’t want to witness the immoral behavior. Even the streets were dirty.
It is well known that New York City Mayors used to come and go, and Times Square didn’t see any change - until a guy by the name of Rudy Giuliani was elected Mayor and instituted the quality of life policy. Regardless of anyone’s opinion or fight for supposed civil rights, his legacy includes completely reforming Times Square.
During his war on crime, Giuliani cleaned the streets and transformed Times Square into a new place where families from all over the world were drawn. New York’s next Mayor Michael Bloomberg closed the streets in Times Square and created a plaza.
But ladies and gentlemen, surprise, surprise: Times Square has made a turn for the worse and is on its way back to what it was before Giuliani.
Now we have naked cowboys, topless women doing business and taking photos – accosting and molesting tourists, a cursing Elmo, and people pissing in the streets. All kinds of immorality have returned to Times Square.
Our current Mayor Bill de Blasio’s solution to the problem is to close the Times Square Plaza due to the fact that equality in the law allows for women to go topless because men can go topless. Therefore, Police Officers are not permitted to arrest, summons or harass topless women, because of “equality.”
The problem with Mayor de Blasio’s solution in closing the Times Square Plaza, will cause the naked cowboys and the naked women to move to other places. That will create a situation where Mayor de Blasio will have to keep closing places all throughout the City of New York. He will have to keep chasing them all over and closing places until there are no places left to close.
The law that authorizes women and men to go topless needs to be changed! As a Senator representing the South Bronx, I am afraid that Hunts Point might be next to go back to what it was.
Therefore, I am introducing legislation to make it illegal for anyone to go topless in the streets and places in New York State except for beaches.
In a city where millions of people are drawn to Times Square, we need to push against the immorality that has taken root there once again so families can enjoy New York. If equality laws are in the way, let’s push for equality so neither men nor women can go topless in our streets.
My dear reader, I hope that my colleagues in the State Legislature and the Mayor of New York City will support my legislation to do away with toplessness in the streets of New York.
That will be better than chasing topless women and closing streets all over New York City.
I am State Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz and this is what you should know.
