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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
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VIDEO: Photographer Arrested for Nudity at 'Clothing-Optional' Beach

By Katie Honan | July 5, 2016 1:56pm
 Photographer Krys Fox was arrested July 4, 2016 for nudity at Riis Park beach, which has historically been known for its tolerance of nudity.
Photographer Krys Fox was arrested July 4, 2016 for nudity at Riis Park beach, which has historically been known for its tolerance of nudity.
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Facebook/Krys Fox

RIIS PARK — A photographer spent hours in a cell after he said his towel slipped during a photo shoot at an LGBT-friendly beach known for its tolerance to nude sunbathing.

Krys Fox, 37, was spending July 4 at a section of the federally run Riis Park known as Bay One when he was tackled by plainclothed police officers and dragged off the beach, he said.

He said that while taking photos during a shoot in the area — a favorite location for him — his towel fell down, which he didn't consider a big deal because the beach has had a clothing-optional reputation for decades.

"I thought it was a clothing optional beach," said Fox, who lives in East Flatbush and said Riis Park is his "special place" — so much so that he got married there and visits frequently throughout the summer. 

But he said within seconds he was tackled by undercover National Park Service officers who he said didn't say a word until after they shoved his face into the sand.

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE

"They shoved my face in the sand in front of hundreds of people, I was humiliated," he said. "I got an arm around my neck and they threw me to the floor and was literally surrounded by like 11 cops.

"They didn't read me my rights, they handcuffed me."

Video taken at the scene shows at least four officers — including two dressed in street clothing — carrying him with his hands cuffed behind his back as he yelled for help.

A spokeswoman with the National Park Service, Daphne Yun, told DNAinfo New York that additional plainclothes officers were assigned to patrol around the Federal Gateway National Recreation Area's beaches for the July 4th holiday, although their focus was intended to be on illegal vendors and narcotics.

NPS officials said a plainclothes officer observed Fox nude and standing by the fence and went over to ask him to cover up. They said he refused to do so, and did not have any ID, and the officer arrested Fox after he became "uncooperative."

Fox was charged with disorderly conduct and public nudity, officials said. They said he will either be asked to pay a fine or appear in federal court.

By law, it is illegal to be nude in the city's parks and beaches, but the rules in the federally controlled Riis Park had historically been at odds with the laws of New York City.

But in 1983, the state passed a law that was enforceable in the park to ban nude sunbathing after the beach became a hub for topless and nude swimmers.

More recently, neighbors in Neponsit started a petition to replace a fence after Hurricane Sandy knocked it down — citing concerns about their children being exposed to nudity.

Yun said the only official nude beach in the Gateway National Recreation Area is at Gunnison Beach in Sandy Hook, NJ.

Fox said he attempted to explain to officers that he had no ID because he had been robbed during last weekend's Gay Pride celebration but that the officers were "violent."

He said he was detained and brought to NPS' station at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, where he was held for three hours. 

He said officers teased him while he was in custody and finally let him go, saying they'd send him paperwork later to let him know when he needed to appear in court.

Now, he said, the beach is ruined for him.

"It means more to me than any other place in the city, and now I won't be able to go back without feeling sick," he said.