N.Y. Jud. Law § 4

§ 4. Sittings of courts to be public. The sittings of every court\nwithin this state shall be public, and every citizen may freely attend\nthe same, except that in all proceedings and trials in cases for\ndivorce, seduction, abortion, rape, assault with intent to commit rape,\ncriminal sexual act, bastardy or filiation, the court may, in its\ndiscretion, exclude therefrom all persons who are not directly\ninterested therein, excepting jurors, witnesses, and officers of the\ncourt.\n