(Jillian Jorgensen’s article appeared in the Observer, 8/20.)
Mayor Bill de Blasio is considering a controversial idea to tackle the controversial issue of bare breasts in Times Square—opening up the area’s pedestrian plaza to car traffic again.
The mayor—who has launched a task force headed by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and City Planning Commissioner Carl Weisbrod to determine how to ban body-paint-wearing ladies and costume characters from soliciting cash—said he was open to ending pedestrian plazas in the busy district. It’s an idea floated by Mr. Bratton, who believes it could make it more difficult for the “entertainers” to ply their trades.
“Commissioner Bratton and I have talked about that option. That will be considered by the task force,” Mr. de Blasio said during an unrelated press conference in the Rockaways. “Now, that’s a big endeavor and like every option, the option comes with pros and cons. So we’re going to argue about what those pros and cons would be.”
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