Enough with the hanky-panky. Police from the 45th Precinct hit two massage parlors on Saturday, June 6. At Sun Spa on City Island Avenue, the raid netted two prostitution arrests. At New Skin Spa on E. Tremont Avenue, it netted one.
Sun Spa, at the north end of City Island Avenue, was still open for business as of Thursday, June 18. It is unclear whether New Skin Spa, on E. Tremont Avenue near Coddington Avenue, is still open. On June 18, a New Skin Spa employee reported that the owner would not return from China for one month.
“We are a family-oriented community,” Mary Jane Musano of the Waterbury LaSalle Community Association said. “We don’t want an illegal [massage parlor] here.”
Sun Spa rumors began to circulate months ago. City Island residents, Community Board 10 and elected officials asked the 45th Precinct to investigate, CB10 district manager Ken Kearns said. The CB10 office is a block away from New Skin Spa on E. Tremont Avenue.
“It takes time to build a case,” Kearns said. “I have to thank the 45th Precinct and the other units involved.”
According to Kearns, the owner of New Skin Spa is no stranger to Throggs Neck. He or she operated a massage parlor on Randall Avenue; it was shut down. The police will close Sun Spa and New Skin Spa if the courts cooperate, Kerns said.
City Island Civic Association president Bill Stanton believes that the 45th Precinct responded to resident outrage. On June 4, Stanton led a group of City Island residents to the 45th Precinct Community Council meeting.
City Island residents knew of Sun Spa; some kept it in business, Stanton said. Sun Spa sits near St. Mary Star of the Sea Church. Stanton hopes police will shut it down.
“Prostitution is dangerous,” Kerns said. “Prostitution is a demeaning and terrible thing.”
Musano thanked the 45th Precinct, too. The community has no need for massage parlors; some bars generate enough trouble, she said.
