Complaints about costumed crime fighters and topless women in Times Square are prompting the New York Police Department to create a new unit to patrol the famed tourist destination.
NYPD Chief of Department James O'Neill said Wednesday officials will recruit 50 additional officers to patrol the Crossroads of the World, bringing the number there to 100 by this fall. Officers assigned to the new unit will work regular shifts and the same posts at the famed intersection to put peoples' minds at ease, he said.
Crime is low in Times Square. But several people have complained that characters dressed like the Hulk and Spiderman and women in body paint and thongs are too aggressive in seeking cash tips in exchange for posing for photos.
A multiagency task force is looking into ways to address the issue. The solution is complicated by the fact that public toplessness and panhandling are legal in New York. Mayor Bill de Blasio has even suggested eliminating the pedestrian plaza at Times Square where the cartoon characters and topless women mingle with throngs of tourists.
Bare-chested women and men held a rally in midtown Manhattan Sunday to express their opposition to critics who complain about the presence of topless tip-seekers in Times Square.
