By LARRY SUTTON
Daily News Staff Writer

The people of New York have a message for free-spirited sunbathers.

Leave it on. Leave it all on.

Two-thirds of those surveyed in a Daily News poll say women should keep their tops on while catching rays at city beaches.

Forty-eight per cent believe most women expose a little too much skin while wearing two-piece bathing suits.

And 29% say that even men's swim trunks reveal too, too much, causing embarrassment on the part of proper folks.

"Americans are more conservative, more prudish than their European counterparts, especially when it comes to topless bathing," said Douglas Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College who analyzed the results.

"Generally speaking, New Yorkers still are bothered when they see a woman half-naked on the beach."

Even the guys?

"Even some guys," Muzzio said.

There is history here. Back in 1919, beachgoers called the cops when seven young women walked onto the sands of Coney Island wearing outfits that exposed ù gasp! ù their legs. Today their outfits would be considered summer dresses; back then, they were fodder for scandal.

The beachgoers of 1997 probably won't call the police if a little too much skin is exposed this summer. But they do have definite opinions about what people should and should not wear near the water.

Of the 768 adult New Yorkers who responded to the poll, 68% said they did not favor topless bathing at public beaches. Negative responses came from 77% of the women and 56% of the men.

Of the 31% who believe women should be allowed to display their upper bodies in all of nature's glory, 43% were men, and 22% were women.

Only 1% had no opinion on the matter.

The reason for New York's prudish streak may have more to do with self-esteem than morality.

New Yorkers ù men and women ù say their firm bodies are nothing more than sweet memories. As a result, they're hesitant to wear any type of revealing swimsuit, let alone a topless suit.

The following question was put to our poll respondents, all picked at random and interviewed by telephone: If you were to wear a bathing suit this summer, which of the following best describes how you think you would look?

Among the possible answers: trim and fit, a little out of shape, a lot out of shape, downright baggy and saggy, 100-pound weakling, and don't know ù for those too afraid to check themselves out in the mirror.

Only 34% of those responding believed they were trim and fit. Slightly more men than women considered themselves beach worthy.

"How can you think otherwise?" said Greta Buechel, a 40-something Manhattan health-care administrator who summers at Belmar on the Jersey Shore. "We live in the land of supermodels and diet maniacs; no one ever believes they're thin enough to look really great in a bathing suit."

Many of those responding to the poll ù 46%, to be precise ù believe they are just a little bit out of shape. About the same percentage of men and women felt this way.

"Could I change my look? Sure," said Mike Adler, 37, a Manhattan contractor who likes to spend weekends at Jones Beach. "But then I'd have to give up my beer. For a few pounds, it's not worth it."

Eleven per cent of the poll respondents said they were "a lot out of shape," and 3% said they were downright baggy and saggy.

Almost four out of 10 gallant New Yorkers said they would not show off their chunky physiques in swimsuits this summer, preferring instead to spend their vacation in slacks and shorts. Men and women responded in equal numbers on this issue.

Twenty-one per cent of them said they just didn't like the way they looked in a bathing suit; the rest had other reasons, from fear of the ocean to a preference for indoor pleasures.

Original Story Date: 060897
Original Story Section: City Central