[Dion]

Ali C. runs a snuggle business out of her Manhattan apartment. Her business, Cuddle U NYC, is similar to other cuddle businesses that have popped up in Portland, Rochester and San Francisco. She charges $80 for an hour to lay in bed with her.

Ali’s cuddle business — she strictly prohibits any unwanted advances or sexual contact with a legal waiver — is modeled after similar services that have popped up in Portland, San Francisco and Rochester, N.Y.

Prospective nestlers must make social media profiles and related websites accessible, as well as provide a copy of their driver’s license. A pre-snuggle interview is also conducted.

“My vetting process is pretty stringent,” she said. “My creepy meter is pretty finely tuned.”

Ali first flirted with the idea of touch therapy at a nursing home as a teenager in Detroit. She’d place her hand on the arms of ill people and watch their mood change instantly. She said eventually like to expand her fledgling service to people with disorders such as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“I was a really shy kid, at home there wasn't a lot of affection,” she recalled. “I had nobody to cuddle me and hold me and tell me it's going to be alright."