> That's a pretty recent thing. IIRC going topless is still technically illegal in NYC. A court case from the late 80s or early 90s carved out a narrow exceptio

> That's a pretty recent thing. IIRC going topless is still technically illegal in NYC. A court case from the late 80s or early 90s carved out a narrow exception (nakedness is not automatically lewdness) without voiding the entire law. No, being topless in NYC is definitely legal (specifically: women can be topless anywhere men can be topless), and that's been the case for a couple of decades, if not longer. It's generally not practiced except at certain events like the Pride March. Public nudity, though, is not permitted. For example, note that the issue in this case is not whether they have the right to be topless in Times Square, but whether they have the right to solicit money in Times Square while being topless: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/nyregion/topless-in-times-square-a-legal-view.html?_r=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/nyregion/topless-in-times... The issue is that Times Square requires performers to be licensed, but performance art is also protected by the First Amendment, and there are laws around working while topless (e.g. strip clubs, which are very strictly regulated in New York - they can't serve alcohol, for example, though there's a loophole some use).