N.Y. Laws » CHAPTER Penal / PART Specific Offenses / TITLE Offenses Against Public Order, Public Sensibilities and the Right to Privacy / ARTICLE Offenses Against Public Sensibilities
New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. Penal Law § 245.01 (2026)

Exposure of a person

✓ current as of May 2026
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§ 245.01 Exposure of a person.
  A person is guilty of exposure if he appears in a public place in such
a manner that the private or intimate parts of his body are unclothed or
exposed. For purposes of this section, the private or intimate parts of
a female person shall include that portion of the breast which is below
the top of the areola. This section shall not apply to the breastfeeding
of infants or to any person entertaining or performing in a play,
exhibition, show or entertainment.
  Exposure of a person is a violation.
  Nothing in this section shall prevent the adoption by a city, town or
village of a local law prohibiting exposure of a person as herein
defined in a public place, at any time, whether or not such person is
entertaining or performing in a play, exhibition, show or entertainment.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 36 cases (7 in the last 5 years), 1981–2025 · leading case: People v. Santorelli, 600 N.E.2d 232 (NY 1992).
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People v. Santorelli, 600 N.E.2d 232 (NY 1992). · cites it 22× “Defendants’ claim that Penal Law § 245.01 offends the Equal Protection Clauses of the Federal and State Constitutions was expressly passed upon by County Court, and its disposition of that claim was a necessary basis for its order of reversal of the Rochester City Court which…”
People v. Hollman, 500 N.E.2d 297 (NY 1986). · cites it 8× “Defendant was twice arrested and charged under Penal Law § 245.01 (unlawful exposure) for sunbathing nude on the beach at Riis Park, Bay 1, in Queens County.”
People v. McNamara, 585 N.E.2d 788 (NY 1991). · cites it 3× “00 does not itself define "public place,” nor does the remainder of article 245 — in which the section is situated — define the term, even though the words "public place” appear in other article 245 offenses (Penal Law §§ 245.01, 245.02). The People ask us to adopt the…”
Spencer Tunick v. Howard Safir, in His Off. Capacity as the Police Comm'r of the City of New York, & the City of New York, 209 F.3d 67 (2d Cir. 2000). · cites it 2× “N.Y. Penal Law § 245.01 . More meaningfully for Tunick, who does not plan to doff his clothing in order to take the photographs, Penal Law § 245.”
Tunick v. Safir, 731 N.E.2d 597 (NY 2000). · cites it 3× “In this action for injunctive relief, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has certified three questions to us: “(1) Whether a photographic shoot involving 75 to 100 nude bodies arranged in an abstract formation on a public street constitutes entertainment…”
People v. Harris, 129 Misc. 2d 577 (N.Y. City Crim. Ct. 1985). · cites it 3× “35 (1) (c), to dismiss the charge against him of exposure of a person, in violation of Penal Law § 245.01. Mr. Harris contends that section 245.”
People v. Orimogunje, 35 Misc. 3d 639 (N.Y. City Crim. Ct. 2012). · cites it 7× “Defendant Lawrence Orimogunje was arraigned on September 21, 2011 in Bronx County Criminal Court, AR-2 and charged with violating Penal Law § 245.01, exposure of a person, a violation under New York State law.”
People v. Craft, 134 Misc. 2d 121 (1986). · cites it 3× “The defendants were arrested and charged with violating Penal Law § 245.01, which imposes criminal sanctions on women for exposing their breasts below the top of the areola, in a public place.”
People v. Craft, 149 Misc. 2d 223 (1991). · cites it 3× “The lower court reserved decision on the motions until after the trial, at which time the court found Penal Law § 245.01 constitutional in general, but unconstitutional as applied to the respondents in this particular case.”
People v. Krathaus, 181 Misc. 2d 378 (1999). · cites it 3× “The informations used to prosecute these defendants, identical except for the names, allege that the defendants violated Penal Law § 245.01. The statute in its entirety reads as follows: “A person is guilty of exposure if he appears in a public place in such a manner that the…”
Penny Lane/East Hampton, Inc. v. Cnty. of Suffolk, 191 A.D.2d 19 (N.Y. App. Div. 1993). “This clear expression of the State’s interest in prohibiting the display of obscene materials should be compared with the final paragraphs of Penal Law §§ 245.01 and 245.02 (the "topless dancer” statutes) pertaining to the exposure of a person: "Nothing in this section shall…”
In re A.P., Juv., 2020 VT 86 (Vt. 2020). “§ 11-45-2 (a) (West 2008); N.Y. Penal Law § 245.01 (McKinney); 18 Pa.”
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