'Get The Hell Out Of Town,' Bridgewater Says Of Illegal Massage Parlor Activity

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — The Township has tightened its rules to be able to stop illegal activity in Bridgewater's massage parlors.

The Township Council approved the second and final reading on Wednesday night to amend Chapter 138(Massage and Bodywork Therapy) of the municipal code.

The changes will help law enforcement and health officials address massage and body work therapy.

"In all the years that we have been sitting on the governing body, there have been many interesting topics. Some that make you scratch your head. Some that make you wonder what’s going on. This topic makes you sick, in all honesty," said Councilman Allen Kurdyla.

"When you find the police report, you see what’s going on and what the intent is of the inappropriate activities that this ordinance wants to address. I will say to everybody, this goes beyond your imagination as to what is going on in these facilities. Not all, but there are some you wish you could just padlock them and say 'get the hell out of town'," continued Kurdyla.

The amended ordinance was first introduced at the Nov. 6 Council meeting, where Councilman Michael Kirsh noted that the change in the ordinance would allow the Township and its health department to go into these establishments and also allow additional enforcement, such as the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, to enforce the law as well.

"This ordinance will allow those establishments that operate legally to continue to hopefully be successful and prosper, and those that are operating less legally would face additional consequences via our ordinance," said Kirsh at the Wednesday Council meeting.

Specifically, the ordinance defines and places regulations on not just massage parlors, but also alternative therapy establishments such as:

• The practice of an individual who uses touch to affect the energy systems, acupoints, Qi meridians or channels of energy of the human body while engaged within the scope of practice of a profession with established standards and ethics. Such practices include acupressure, Asian bodywork therapy, polarity therapy bodywork, and Reiki
• Reflexology
• The practice of an individual who uses touch, words, and directed movement to deepen awareness of existing patterns of movement in the body and to suggest new possibilities of movement, while engaged within the scope of practice of a profession with established standards and ethics; and/or
• Any massage-like activity that does not meet the definition of "massage therapy" set forth hereinafter

Additionally, the ordinance added the following sanitation and hygiene standards that all massage establishments operating in the Township shall comply with:

• Dressing rooms must be available on the premises. Doors to such dressing rooms shall open inward and be self-closing. If the dressing room is also used as the therapy/massage room, then adequate procedures shall be in place to safeguard the privacy of the client. In no case shall these doors be locked when both a client and any employee are present. Any recording equipment shall be limited to common areas and at no time should be installed in dressing or therapy/massage rooms.
• Only oils, creams, lotions, and other preparations standard in the legitimate bodywork industry shall be permitted in the massage, bodywork, and somatic therapy establishment. Any material prurient in nature is strictly prohibited.
• No massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishments shall have a locked exterior entrance door during the time of operation. The “buzzing in” of clientele into a lobby area is prohibited.
• No massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishments shall have any opaque windows/doors or drawn window/door treatments on the exterior of the building that would block clear view of any public spaces inside of the establishment.
• No employee of any massage, bodywork, or somatic therapy establishment shall possess any personal lubricant, lingerie or suggestive clothing, condoms or sexual aids/toys, while working in the establishment, nor will any of said items be permitted inside of any massage, bodywork, or somatic therapy establishment.

Councilman Filipe Pedroso raised a concern over the wording of "suggestive clothing."

"What does suggestive clothing mean? That could be like wearing yoga pants," said Pedroso who added that it needed to be more defined, "when you are holding people to a standard when they don’t even know what it is."

Kirsh pointed out that the ordinance has been available to the council for 60 days.

"I think at this very late stage, commentary like that is clearly questionable in terms of the amount of preparation that was done for this hearing," said Kirsh.

Council President Howard Norgalis did not allow Pedroso to continue to ask follow-up questions.

When it came down to the vote, Pedroso was the lone "no" vote, stating, "I think the ordinance is vague. It's not clear enough. It's not well written."

See the ordinance below:

11b (1) by Alexis Tarrazi

• Previous Reporting: New Massage Parlor Ordinance To Crack Down On Illegal Activity In Bridgewater

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