Council's Voyeurism Bill Could Criminalize Innocent Behavior

A bill that could make it illegal to glance at a naked neighbor is moving forward in the City Council, despite objections from the New York Civil Liberties Union and some council members, who say it is overly broad and could criminalize innocent behavior.

Council Member Peter Vallone Jr. said he introduced the bill to fight back against perverts, such as people who stand at the bottom of a flight of stairs and look up women's skirts.

Mr. Vallone said he has met with Speaker Christine Quinn about the legislation and said that although she told him she has reservations about it, "we both want to make sure the worst of the worst are stopped."

"We don't want to capture any innocent behavior or even behavior that we might not like, but shouldn't be criminalized," he said. "The drafting of the language of this bill has to be done very carefully and we're actively looking into ways to best limit its scope so it will still capture the perverts we want it to capture without endangering anyone looking out their own window."

A public safety committee hearing on the bill is scheduled for Monday.