Chief hopes to rub out illegitimate massage spas
Measure would demand background checks and greater transparency
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Massage parlors in town will be subject to an elaborate set of new regulations designed to discourage brothels posing as legal businesses from setting up shop.

During the Township Council meeting on Tuesday, Chief Ray Hayducka presented an ordinance that would strengthen regulations on massage parlors operating in the township. Based on a similar ordinance in Woodbridge, the measure demands that anyone practicing massage in South Brunswick be certified as a licensed massage therapist by the state and the business itself must seek a permit from the township clerk.

The application to receive this permit comes with a $500 fee and is good for one year, upon which time the business would need to renew the permit and pay the fee again. The business will also need to submit a sworn statement that all massage therapists employed by that establishment are certified by the state - to do this, the proprietors must also submit the names and addresses of its employees.

The business owners must also submit to a criminal background check, be fingerprinted by the South Brunswick police and provide three character references who are Middlesex County residents.

Finally, the Health Department will conduct two inspections per year to enforce a collection of sanitary regulations included in the ordinance as well as the other conditions listed above.

Hayducka said that the aim of the regulations is to discourage brothels posing as massage parlors from opening in town by forcing the business owners to be more transparent in their dealings. The chief also feels that the fees and licensing requirements, too, will encourage more criminal enterprises to move somewhere more convenient than South Brunswick.

"We think it will be such a deterrent that they have to come in and ID themselves and be fingerprinted, only legit businesses will want to come here," said Hayducka.

The ordinance comes on the heels of a prostitution raid on Georges Road in April. Police had also shut down an alleged brothel operating in the exact same place the year before. The year before that police responded to complaints about prostitution in Jefferson Plaza. Other towns in Middlesex County, including Woodbridge, have had similar issues in the past.

Hayducka said it was important to address these problems before they grow too large. He said that he has no problems with legitimate businesses operating, and that the regulations can ensure that it is only legitimate businesses that are operating.

"Normal massage parlors operating under the rules aren't the problem, but a lot of them are crooks. This ensures they're operating legally. We need to stay in front of this, else you'll have too many and we'll be behind on this, so I'd like to implement this to give us another tool when they do pop up," Hayducka said.

The council responded positively to this ordinance and is expected to introduce it for a first reading at the next meeting on June 12.