Saturday, January 23, 2016

Will new massage parlor bills make a difference?

From the Queens Chronicle:

After months of banging the drum for legislative help when it comes to cracking down on illegal massage parlors, Capt. Mark Wachter, commanding officer of the 104th Precinct, may finally get his wish.

A package of five bills aimed at hampering the ability of such entities to operate illegally was introduced jointly by Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) and state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) this week, with Wachter saying it will no longer be easier to close a bagel store than it will be a massage parlor in New York City should the legislation pass.

After months of receiving complaints from southwest Queens residents of parlors opening on Myrtle and Metropolitan avenues either without licenses or with a specialty in illicit sexual services, Wachter took action late last year.

A handful of establishments closed after he assigned an officer to sit outside their front door in a police cruiser for days at a time, but Wachter said it wasn’t unusual to see them reopen in another location a short time later.

Other areas especially plagued by illegal massage parlors include Corona, Flushing and Bayside.

But according to Addabbo, the legislation he introduced requiring landlords to verify the license of a prospective massage therapist tenant before entering into a lease agreement — with a violation resulting in a $1,000 fine for the former — could curb the practice.

Other pieces of legislation introduced would require all massage parlors to not obstruct the view into the building’s lobby from the sidewalk; require the licensee of such a venue to be on the premises at all times during business hours and require that landlords evict any parlor proven to have promoted prostitution or operated without a license.

The final bill provides the city Department of Consumer Affairs the full authority to both enforce the provisions and impose fines on problematic locations.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Broadway , Flushing, 164th Street:
Many complaints to the electeds and community board and the 109 pct. Little done, but many excuses given. Even commander Conforti noted that these places just keep reopening. So, is everyone's hands tied? No! Only their brains.
If enough BFHA members would patrol the street there would be no need to station a police cruiser outside
of at least four shady establishments. Do something productive for a change . If Vallone won't do squat, do it yourself you spoiled babies!

It worked on 35th Avenue in downtown Flushing.
The North Flushing Civic drove away about 60 hookers by keeping watch with occasional patrols of at least a dozen volunteers.
The Johns got wind of this and stopped frequenting these whore spots. Their nabe was no longer a magnet. The problem moved far away.
Some photos were taken of the Johns and their vehicles.
Go after the Johns! It has proven to work well.

Anonymous said...

Corona, Queens is inundated by these massage places. They compete against the mexican brothels.

Anonymous said...

You might say this story had a happy ending!

That was too easy!

Anonymous said...

They will enforce it for the first few months then they will just go back to old ways just like everything else in nyc does.

Anonymous said...

Queens politicians knowingly let this happen so as not to offend Asians and to garner the Asian vote in order to keep their jobs.
Why do you think Flushing, Bayside, etc have all turned into disgusting neighborhoods? All for votes. It's outright pandering ...

Anonymous said...

Reality check:
Asians generally do not do drugs or get in vollved in individual target drive by shootings like the "darker" hued folks.
Their crimes are less visible but much greater.....mass human trafficking, brothels, the international wholesale movement of drugs.
But unlike the "darker" hued folks, they have mucho dollars to buy politicians.
They do this with campaign contributions above and under the table ....a lot of it with laundered cash.
That is why there is no big push to push out this brand of Asian crime. A secondary benefit is that these Asians are pushing out the "darker" hued folks in neighborhoods that yuppies wish to live in but might have been to dangerous a few years back.
The truth is out there if you know what to look for!

i.e.
Former Congressman Ackerman was supported by the notorious criminal Tommy Huang.
Gary retired just in time and ahead of an FBI investigation. Now he lives on a big fat pension sucked from all of you sucker voters.
How much money have the StViskys etc. packed away for decades for looking the other way.
Grace Meng's father was convicted for carrying a bribe to buy a judge.
Now she replaced Ackerman.

Anonymous said...

The way it works is you drive them out of your nabe.
They won't come back. They move elsewhere. Then it's up to the nabe they move to.
They can drive them out of theirs.
Stop being lazy. Do it!

It strikes me that the 164th Stree problem , you speak of, is a big part of the Broadway Flushing Homeowners' Associations problem.
They are a prime example of having been lazy spoiled cry babies for years. That is their big problem,...inactivity. "Quick, call Senator Padavan".
No, there are no more footmen to wipe your butts for you, only you!
Get off the pot and on the stick!

Anonymous said...

LOL!
Can you see some of those tea party BFHA church ladies taking to the streets on hooker patrol?
Is there not at least one Carrie Nation among them?

Anonymous said...

LEGALIZE-REGULATE-TAX DONE.

Anonymous said...

Asians generally do not do drugs or get in vollved in individual target drive by shootings like the "darker" hued folks. 
Their crimes are less visible but much greater.....mass human trafficking, brothels, the international wholesale movement of drugs.

Asians don't do drugs? Lol are you serious? They just had a huge crackdown in china because a restaurant was putting opium in the food they cook with. Of course, asians do drugs!

Anonymous said...

ENFORCEMENT & PROSECUTION ARE THE ONLY TOOKS THAT CAN CRACK DOWN ON ILLEGAL ACTIVITY||

Anonymous said...

Agreed.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
LEGALIZE-REGULATE-TAX DONE.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Agreed X 100

Anonymous said...

Agree too. Legalization is a much better alternative than more heavyhanded enforcement and endless new laws.