BY ANTHONY GIUDICE AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
The war on dirty deeds at local massage parlors continues.
Four workers at spas in Glendale and Ridgewood were picked up by police in the latest undercover sting operation on Tuesday, police announced on Wednesday.
Yun Qin Lin, 33, was cuffed for alleged prostitution and also operating without a license inside a parlor on Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood. Her co-worker, identified as Ling Lu, was also taken into custody for unlawfully practicing massage therapy.
Hua Chen, 51, and Ning Fang Zheng, 30, were arrested at a spa on Myrtle Avenue in Glendale for allegedly practicing massage therapy without a license, authorities said.
The arrests were made through an investigation conducted by the NYPD Queens Vice Enforcement Squad. Police declined to disclose the exact locations of the two spas due to the ongoing investigation.
Illegal activity at massage parlors have been on the 104th Precinct’s radar for some time, as many community members lodged complaints regarding the seedy establishments, and they have been continuously shutting them down throughout their neighborhoods since late last year.
In order to curb the increase of openings of these massage parlors, Assemblyman Mike Miller and Senator Joseph Addabbo introduced a package of legislation to give police more power in closing them down, and keeping them shut down.
The package of legislation would expand the definition of “massage therapist” and require licensees to be on premises at all times; require the landlords to verify the licensure of a massage therapist tenant prior to entering into a lease agreement; prevent a massage parlor from obstructing the view of their lobby area; impose a duty on the landlords to terminate a tenancy of a massage therapist location found guilty of promoting prostitution within 60 days of notification to the landlord by a city or state agency; and grant the city Department of Consumer Affairs the authority to enforce the imposition of fines relating to the practice of massage therapy.
