2015.08.18 The New York Times
Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday that he sees the women parading around Times Square covered in little but body paint not as creative artists, but as pushy panhandlers whose efforts to separate tourists from their money should be regulated.
The topless women, known as desnudas, have attracted more scrutiny than usual this summer amid complaints about their aggressive solicitation of payment to pose for pictures. Mr. de Blasio placed them in the same category as the gaggle of costumed characters that have become nearly synonymous with predatory panhandling in and around Times Square.