NYC: Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Stores Impose Dress Codes

If your visiting New York City, especially in some of the very Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn, you better tighten up on your manner of dress. A lot of the businesses run by Ultra-Orthodox Jews are getting a bit tired of people walking into their establishments half naked and are starting to require would-be patrons to dress modestly. Some of the locals are irritated by the very idea of a dress code, though I hasten to add that New York is also one of the last cities where one can still find restaurants that require a coat and tie after six.

It goes without saying that my sympathy level is pretty low.

If you don't like the dress code then the answer is simple, DON"T SHOP THERE! Just take your business elsewhere. This is a good opportunity for a little free market correction. If the dress code is unreasonable in the minds of most of the patrons then they will lose business or be forced to modify their rules.

There is no law against a dress code provided that it is not being erected in an effort to discriminate on the basis of race, gender or ethnicity which is clearly not the case here. If an effort were being made to extend a dress code to public venues or streets and sidewalks that would obviously be a different story. In Israel that has been a problem in some of the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods. But this situation applies to privately owned businesses. In such a case the owners are, within reason, free to do as they wish...

Just as patrons are free to take their money and skimpy dress elsewhere.