The likes of “The Situation” may not be the only kind of over-the-top shirtless bodies available for viewing on the Jersey Shore soon.
Asbury Park officials are considering a request for a topless beach, reports the Asbury Park Press.
But one controversial aspect of the bare-breasted request is that there is no way to make a topless section of the beach secluded. Unlike some well-known nude beaches around the country that are located a distance from foot traffic, the proposed topless section would be at the city’s Eighth Avenue beach – right off the boardwalk.
"I have no problem with people expressing themselves. I'm keeping an open mind," Councilwoman Sue Henderson told the Asbury Park Press. “The problem is that we have a boardwalk that runs past there.”
Yoga Basin owner and Asbury Park resident Reggie Flimlin made the initial request, saying that women are already going topless at the north end beach anyway.
"Why don't we make it so it doesn't feel so clandestine and give us (women) a place where we can be comfortable?" Flimlin told the Asbury Park Press. "I do think Asbury is ready to recognize a woman's right to be comfortable, to sunbathe without tan lines. We celebrate so many different ideologies and choices here, and currently men are topless and women should have the same right."
City Council President John Loffredo has asked that a full report be given, outlining how other municipalities with nude or topless beaches handle it at the July 7 council meeting.
"I guess it's a matter of maturity, honestly, as to whether or not you can accept it," Loffredo told the Asbury Park Press.
