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you too could have had fully nude in NY....like er, umm Seattle or Chicago
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While the way the City of New York handled this year's WNBR may be discouraging, it may help to remember the long evolution of the Fremont Naked Riders in Seattle.
It all started there with streakers in the front of the regular solstice parade in 1992, and over the next dozen or so years there were a handful of painted or nude riders each year, and there were arrests. And when the nudity finally gained acceptance it then took many more years to build up to the many hundreds of naked riders seen in recent years.
New York is an otherwise liberal city, and it is hard to think of another city in the US where women are legally allowed to go topless on the street. Perhaps, the NYPD are concerned that if full nudity is allowed in a once a year bike ride, there will be a court ruling legalizing full nudity on the street at any time.
It was a judge's ruling that made being topless legal.
Apparently, the NYC police warned the NY ride organizers that there would be "Zero Tolerance" (Zed) for the breaking of any law, including full nudity. There were reported to be, at least, two summonses and four lane violations issued to riders. The early ride arrest, which can be seen in the video below, was for riding a bike on the sidewalk.
The best attended rides in the US, in Portland and Chicago, are held at night in the dark where crowds aren't usually expected on the streets, and ride participants don't have to worry as much about being seen by non-riders or being photographed for all the world to see for years to come.
The New York riders who want to ride fully nude in a city will have a chance in early September in Philadelphia, which is a couple of hours away by car or train. Philadelphia, which has had some very tough police organizations in the past, has its ride on a Sunday evening at sundown in the middle of a three day national holiday. The ride goes through a nearly empty business district, that makes it a lot easier for the police to look the other way on public nudity. Riders get to ride nude, if they want, but the "demonstration" aspect to the ride is diminished.
This link is to a video of the NY ride arrest, and then shows an interview with a female rider explaining her understanding of the rules the City of New York has imposed. She isn't nude, so don't get your hopes up.
hxxp/www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_au-fYni-A