New Massage Parlor Law In Response To ‘Issue We Had To Address,’ Officials Say

Borough officials began “tweaking” a law aimed at curbing illegal activity in Ramsey’s massage parlors at a council meeting last week.

“We have had a problem over the years with prostitution going on at massage parlors,” Chief Bryan Gurney said of what prompted the new law. Licensing conditions in the law, which was originally passed last year, require both business owners and their employees to be licensed practitioners, he said.

“We were having a problem where we’d make an arrest [at a massage parlor], and then the next day a new person would be working there and the same thing would start happening again,” Gurney said.

Mayor Chris Botta said Thursday the law was "in response to an issue we had to address."

According to a NorthJersey.com report on the new law, five prostitution-related arrests were made at three Ramsey massage parlors – the Ion Spa, Stress Reduction Center and the Ocean Spa – over the past year-and-a-half. The amendment to the law, introduced at last Thursday’s borough council meeting, adjusted startup and annual licensing fees charged to therapists.

The law, Gurney said, is meant to create a more concrete connection between parlor owners and their employees. “In the past, it may have been an employee at a place who was carrying out [prostitution activities], not necessarily the owner,” Gurney said. “Now both owners and employees will need to be licensed.”

The amendments to the law are scheduled for a final reading September 12.

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