July 21, 2008 --

Welcome to Nude York City.

Some folks are stripping down to escape the scorching summer temperatures - but others aren't waiting 'til they hit the area's clothing-optional beaches.

The au naturel look is catching on at city restaurants, a Midtown yoga club and even a stand-up comedy joint.

"We're just more comfortable nude," said John Ordover, who rents city eateries for dinner parties with a strict dress code - no clothes allowed.

Vote: Would you do Yoga in the buff?

"We're not out to shock or put on a public spectacle. We want only to do things that other people do in the way that we are most comfortable doing them. That, for us, is without clothes," he said.

About 50 diners - whose motto is "no hot soup" - regularly turn up for Ordover's monthly meals held at venues including the Mercantile Grill on Pearl Street and Pete's Downtown in Brooklyn.

They're served by regular restaurant staff - forced by city laws to keep their clothes on.

"We've never had a restaurant say no to us, and the waiters think nothing of it," said Ordover, 46, who works as a Web marketer when he has his clothes on.

"If you work in a restaurant in New York City, the chances are you've seen a lot more shocking things than a room full of naked diners," he added.

At a Midtown studio called the Phoenix Temple, twice-weekly yoga classes also are really encouraging participants to expose their inner selves.

"I had such a transformative experience on my own when I did yoga naked rather than clothed," said Naked Yoga NYC teacher Isis Phoenix. "I wanted to share that."

The classes have about 10 devotees who have to obey two rules - leave your clothes behind, and bring your own mat.

"We are reclaiming and celebrating our bodies," said Phoenix, who starts each class with a disrobing ceremony.

"The first 10 minutes of class for anyone who is new, there's always a sense of trepidation," said Phoenix. "It dissolves very quickly."

And at a Gotham comedy club, the sniggering isn't caused just by the punch lines.

"The first time I tried comedy naked, it was the best thing ever," said Andy Ofiesh, founder of the Naked Comedy Showcase, whose stable of stark-naked funnymen and women perform once a month at the People's Improv Theater in Chelsea.

"It gives you a kind of vulnerability that puts the audience on your side straight away."

That audience could also be in the same vulnerable state. Half the auditorium is reserved for people who enjoy laughing in the nude.

"We fill the space," said Ofiesh. "Finding comedians is more difficult.