Greenburgh Passes New Code to Regulate Massage Parlors

New local laws have been approved by the Greenburgh Town Board to regulate massage establishments that are used for illegal activity including prostitution. According to Bob Bernstein, head of the Edgemont Community Council, the new law "will give its police the tools they need to permanently close all adult massage businesses in unincorporated Greenburgh that employ persons that are not licensed by the State of New York as massage therapists.

The new law was the result of collaboration between Robert Bernstein and Councilmembers Francis Sheehan, Ken Jones and Kevin Morgan. The law employs a three-pronged approach.

First, the Town outlaws all "massage parlors," which are defined as massage businesses that employ unlicensed personnel.

Second, the Town requires all massage establishments to apply for a license, which will give police the opportunity to conduct background checks to determine whether the applicants have a history of hiring unlicensed massage workers.

Third, once licensed, all massage establishments in Town must then obtain a special permit in order to comply with the Town's zoning code.

By adopting this approach, not only will the Town not give licenses to any massage parlors, but if a massage parlor is found to be operating in the Town, the police will be able to obtain a court order to shut it down, either because it never had a license or, if it did have a license, to get a court order revoking it.

All massage businesses in Town will have to comply with the new law within four months."

An initial draft of the law was proposed by attorney Bob Bernstein after Greenburgh Police Chief Chris McNerney made the Edgemont Community Council aware that adult massage parlors had opened up in empty storefronts in strip malls along Central Avenue in Edgemont. The Greenburgh police have made arrests over the years but have had a difficult time permanently shutting down the operations.

Most recently, Greenburgh Police arrested nine people at Scarsdale Foot Massage and Foot Relaxation, both on Central Park Avenue in Scarsdale on Thursday October 22. Similar arrests were made in August 2015, March 2015, August 2013, April 2012 and October 2010.

According to Bernstein the purpose of the law is to target massage parlors in Greenburgh that advertise on the internet offering "adult entertainment." These advertisements typically feature photographs of scantily clad young women with wording that strongly suggests that sexual services can be obtained at these businesses. In addition, according to police, patrons of these businesses would often publish online reviews, describing the various sexual services available and the prices for which they were offered.

Without the law police conducted undercover raids, but were only able to target the women who work in these businesses, not the men who typically employed them. They were not able to charge the women not with prostitution, which is difficult and expensive to prove — but instead with offering massage services without a license, which is much easier to prove and is a Class E Felony in New York.

According to Mr. Bernstein, "Because of the severity of the felony charge, the women arrested would typically plead to minor offenses and be back at work, if not where they were arrested, then at another storefront nearby or in a neighboring community."

Meanwhile, when these arrests would occur, the Town's building department would inspect the premises and if a building code violation were found, the building department would shut the place down. But the businesses would reopen as soon as the violations were corrected.

Before passage of the new law, the police not only lacked the tools to close these businesses down for good, but their enforcement efforts often involved coordinating with state and federal law enforcement authorities and were quite costly to taxpayers.

According to Mr. Bernstein the legislation is considered a landmark because it is expected to serve as a model for adoption by other municipalities in New York.

The cost of obtaining the license from the Town of Greenburgh is now only $100, but the Town Board must still set a fee for the special permit. Under existing town legislation, obtaining a special permit can cost more than $2500, but according to Feiner, the plan is to set a much lower fee so as not to unduly burden the Town's massage businesses and make sure they comply.

Commenting on the passage of the new law, Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said, "I would like to express my thanks to Bob Bernstein, head of the Edgemont Community Council, Councilmembers Francis Sheehan, Kevin Morgan and Ken Jones for working cooperatively on a law that was approved unanimously by the Greenburgh Town Board that will give the police the tools they need to close permanently all illegal adult massage businesses in unincorporated Greenburgh. This new law, which had the support of Greenburgh Police Chief Chris McNerney, will enable the town to address an important quality of life concern that many residents of Edgemont and unincorporated Greenburgh have highlighted in the past-- which includes the need to close down prostitution establishments on Central Avenue.

It's my hope that the new law will be the beginning of a new relationship between the town and Edgemont Community Council. This legislation was an example of how government should work—it was a cooperative effort with elected officials and civic leaders working together for the good of the town. Bob Bernstein worked very hard drafting the initial legislation. The ECC also did a good job advocating for the law. Councilman Francis Sheehan spent hundreds of hours (including working at Town Hall after midnight and weekends in the weeks prior to the adoption of the legislation checking every word of the draft law). There was give and take and the people won!

If this spirit of cooperation continues –and I trust it will—we will be able to make our town a much better place to live and work. I look forward to working with ECC leaders on many other important issues during my next term of office."