topless dancing where alcohol was sold. New York’s
topless dancing where alcohol was sold. New York’s highest state court ruled in their favor, deciding that banning toplessness in bars was a violation of the freedom of
expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with the ruling.
That was good news for the city’s 40 to 50 topless bars, 13 of which were located in Times Square and the surrounding blocks. But despite the legal victory, topless entertainment was suffering an economic slide: a 1982 report from the mayor’s office indicated that the total number of sex-related businesses in Times Square had fallen from 147 in 1976 to 74 by the end of 1982.
1994: The Enforcer
Newly elected mayor Rudolph Giuliani cracked down on Times Square’s sex shops, calling for new zoning legislation that would prevent topless clubs, peep shows and similar businesses from clustering together. Many in midtown Manhattan vociferously opposed the sanitizing Disneyfication of Times Square, a process that included bringing The Lion King musical to 42nd Street.
Despite the protests on free-speech grounds, the legislation passed, and most of Times Square’s topless joints either shut down or moved to designated areas in Queens and Brooklyn. Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, a 25-screen AMC movie theater, Westin and Hilton hotels, and other major companies set up shop in their place.
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