Massage Establishments in the Village

by Meg Yergin -

On September 30, 2025, the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) continued its review of a special use permit application to open a new massage establishment in a residential district at 397 Palmer Avenue.  Special permits are for uses that are allowed under the Code.  The role of the ZBA during their review process is to set appropriate conditions for the business.

The ZBA had previously approved a special use permit for a massage establishment at the same location on April 26, 2022 for a period of two years.  See HERE. At the September 30 meeting, ZBA members discussed the fact that they had received a letter from Village Police Chief P.J. Trujillo after the public hearing had closed which referred to criminal issues with that previous massage business.  

ZBA Member Gretta Heaney said she wanted to re-open the public hearing to ask Trujillo what specific conditions he would recommend the ZBA set for the new operation given the issues with the prior business, and to give the applicant an opportunity to respond.   ZBA Member Dave Neufeld argued that re-opening the hearing would be unfair to the applicant as the past issues concerned a different owner.  The ZBA decided to push the vote to re-open the public hearing to their next meeting on November 6, 2025 and took no further action on the application.

Past Illicit Activities   

There are numerous online message boards such as “AMP Reviews” and “RubMaps” where patrons leave reviews for illicit massage businesses or “IMBs” across the country.  Multiple posts on these sites describe illicit activities at 397 Palmer Avenue between January 2023 and September 2024 when a prior business operated as Crown Spa.  These posts include explicit details describing the shape and size of the body parts of the women providing services, a description of the illicit services they are willing to perform, a rating of the satisfaction of those services, and the price of those services.   

The Village’s Building Department (BD) closed Crown Spa on September 17, 2024, citing criminal activity and operating without a special use permit.  The BD’s notice is still taped to the front door of the premises.

Door to the former Crown Spa on the first floor of 397 Palmer Avenue

 Online reviews of women and illicit services for other massage establishments in the Village can also be found on these message boards.  These include posts regarding Cozy Spa on Ward Avenue, Shiatsu Spa on Boston Post Road and Harbor Spa described as near the Post Road and Mamaroneck Avenue.

Cozy Spa is located on the second floor at 437 Ward Avenue

On October 10, 2024, two individuals appeared at the Village of Mamaroneck Justice Court following an investigation by the Village of Mamaroneck Police Department (VOM PD) at 397 Palmer Avenue.  One person was identified as the manager of the business and charged with permitting prostitution.  Another was charged with prostitution and attempted unauthorized practice of a profession for providing a massage without a NYS license.

Village Code Requirements for Massage Establishments

The Code includes a long list of required conditions for massage establishments including that all of its massage therapists must be licensed by NYS.  In addition, the massage therapists must provide their fingerprints, Social Security numbers and home addresses to the police.  A copy of this information is to be maintained by the Village Clerk.  See HERE.

The holder of the establishment’s special use permit is required to notify the Code Enforcement Officer of each change in any of the required data within 10 days.  However, in the past, some massage establishments have failed to fulfill these conditions after obtaining a special use permit.  Others fail to renew their permit, which must be renewed every two years.   And others appear to open without ever applying for a special use permit as they are mentioned by patrons on the IMB message boards but operate without any visible signage. 

Under the Code, Village representatives, including the Code Enforcement Officer, and the Police and Fire Departments may inspect the premises of massage establishments for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the law at any time it is occupied or open for business.

Permitted Locations Under the Code

The Code does not specify in which districts massage establishments are permitted in the Village.  However, at the September 30 meeting, Neufeld stated that because massage therapy requires a state license it is a professional service. 

A review of the Code finds that “professional services” are permitted in most districts in the Village, including C1 and C2 business districts, office districts and the transit overlay district (TOD).  Also, a home office may provide professional services as an accessory use in residential districts.  See HERE 342-21 B(1)(a). 

At the September 30 meeting, the ZBA considered the fact that 397 Palmer Avenue has grandfathered status as a legal professional office building within a residential district.

This building and its parking lot are bordered by two private homes.

Massage Establishments and Human Trafficking

In addition to a potential connection to prostitution, multiple studies link IMBs to human trafficking.  A study by the Polaris Project – a non-profit organization focusing on human trafficking - published in 2018 reports that:

“IMBs are a venue that use the cover of a legitimate bodywork or massage business to provide commercial sex acts to a customer base of sex buyers.  Many of the IMBs nationwide are at risk for engaging of human trafficking.” 

The Polaris report states that IMBs take advantage of the current nonsystematic approach to massage licensing processes in the United States.  It notes that license and certification mills provide illegitimate credentials as part of organized crime networks in human trafficking.  See HERE.

The non-profit group, Our Rescue, reported in June 2025 that 2,949 cases of IMBs are hiding behind legitimate massage services while perpetrating systematic sexual exploitation in the U.S.:

“The massage business model provides the perfect cover for sex traffickers…while law enforcement and communities struggle to distinguish between legitimate massage establishments and those engaged in illegal activity.”

Our Rescue also reports that most women trafficked in IMBs are from China, are between the ages of 35 – 55 and speak little to no English.  Traffickers exploit their financial vulnerabilities with victims taking out loans to pay brokers for visa processes and travel arrangements.  Victims’ fear of cooperating with authorities due to immigration concerns and their personal trauma make prosecution difficult.  See HERE.

In 2024, New Jersey's State Commission of Investigation (SCI) found that all of the hundreds of massage entities it identified as associated with potentially unlawful conduct, including human trafficking, were registered with state or local governmental entities to appear as though they were legitimate massage businesses.  See HERE. The report lists the following signs that a massage business is not legitimate and is engaged in illicit activity and human trafficking:

·      Evidence that female employees live at the massage establishments.

·      Practices to obscure activities occurring inside the facilities, such as darkened windows, the use of back entrances, and lack of signage. 

·      Operating in cash with little to no taxable income reported and use of straw owners to hide true ownership. 

Village Police Investigations and Closures

In 2022, the VOM PD participated in a coordinated undercover investigation with the Larchmont police and shut down three massage businesses for prostitution.  See HERE. More recently, the efforts of the VOM PD have resulted in the closing of more than seven massage businesses in the Village due to illegal activities, often finding signs that the workers in the establishment were living on the premises.

NYS Efforts to Deter Human Trafficking at IMBs

Bills to amend NYS General Business Law for licensing and inspecting massage establishments have been introduced in the New York House and Senate. NY State Assembly Bill 2025-A7564 (see HERE) and NY State Senate Bill 2023-S8548A (see HERE).  The stated legislative purpose of these bills is to develop requirements for an establishment license for businesses that offer massage therapy services to ensure:

“the health, safety, and welfare of the public, the establishment’s employees, the proper professional growth and development of the massage therapy profession and to serve to deter human trafficking, unlicensed providers and other illegal activity.”  [Emphasis added.]

Search the NYS License Registry

In addition, NYS provides a website where consumers may verify if an individual holds a professional license.  See HERE. NYS’s basic requirements to be granted and maintain a professional massage therapist license include:

·      Be at least 18 years of age

·      Be of good moral character

·      Complete a course in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) within the past three years

·      Submit evidence of English proficiency

·      Complete a high school degree and graduate from a school or institute of massage registered with the NYS Education Department with 1,000 hours of education

·      Pass a NYS examination and pay a fee

·      Take 36 hours of mandatory continuing education every 3 years

Next Steps for the ZBA

The next meeting of the ZBA is scheduled for November 6, 2025.  The agenda for the meeting is not yet available.

Editor’s Note:  Author Meg Yergin was a member of the ZBA in January 2022 when the hearing was opened for a special permit application for a massage establishment at 397 Palmer Avenue.  Ms. Yergin resigned from the ZBA before the vote was taken approving the application on April 26, 2022.