No Pants, No Problem...Almost

Move over Naked Cowboy, there is a new breed of nakedness in the city - the Naked Subway Rider. More than 200 people dropped their drawers to participate in the 6th annual "No Pants Subway Ride", which has been a yearly tradition since 2002. Over 200 participants (50 more than last year) gathered at the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station, boarded the 6 train, de-pantsed and exited at different stations. Then they re-boarded other uptown trains to the shock and amusement of fellow subway riders. Unlike last year's ride which resulted in arrests, this years annual event was "pulled off" without a problem.

It's subtle at first and it's hard for people to explain what could possibly be happening. By the end of the ride, when there's 20, 30, 40 people in their underwear, it becomes something that's obviously meant to be funny. However, not everyone sees the humor in it. Last year a police officer stopped a train at 59th Street, ordered all the passengers off and handcuffed 8 of the pranksters on the platform. A judge later threw out the disorderly conduct charges, noting that it's not illegal to wear underwear in public.

Although I tend to feel it should be a crime for a 250lb hairy dude to be pantless in public. Further more, I think it should be a felony for this man to have nothing but a thin layer of tighty-whiteys between his nuggets and me on a crammed subway. That's just a little too close for comfort, even by New York standards.