The city wants to put a quick stop to an alleged happy-endings massage parlor in Washington Heights, according to new court documents.
Workers at Shen Zhou Qi Gong Tui Na — which offers back and foot rubs on a sign in the front — were busted for offering sexual favors for between $60 and $80 during three undercover stings in May, a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed by the city Law Department claims.
When an undercover agent went to the parlor on May 11, a female employee told him the massage would be $26 and “a sexual act, to wit manual stimulation” would be another $60, the lawsuit charges.
The same prices and services were allegedly offered again to an undercover agent on May 17.
Then, on May 29 a female worker offered an agent a $40 massage with an $80 happy ending, the court papers say.
The worker, Deli Yang, and owner, Cai Mei Sun, were arrested that day, according to the documents.
The “operator should have been aware of the prostitution activity at the subject premises since there were arrests for prostitution . . . on multiple occasions,” the papers say.
The Law Department is requesting that the parlor, at 1325 St. Nicholas Ave. near West 176th Street, be shut for a year, and is pushing for a fine of $1,000 per day that the “public nuisance” activities occurred.
“Those individuals involved in the illegal activity may still have access to the subject premises, thus the opportunity for illegal activity and the consequential negative effect on the surrounding community still exists,” city lawyers argue.
Court records confirm that Yang and Sun were arrested and charged in Manhattan Criminal Court for unauthorized use of a professional title. Yang was also charged with prostitution.
They were released on their own recognizance pending their cases. Yang is due back in court on Oct. 2, Sun on Nov. 13.
Lawyers for Yang and Sun could not immediately be reached for comment.
The massage parlor did not immediately return a request for comment.
The effort to crack down on prostitution comes after seven NYPD cops and an ex-vice detective were arrested in a sweeping prostitution and gambling ring takedown.
Prosecutors say Ludwig Paz — a retired vice detective — and his wife headed the operation, running brothels in Queens, Brooklyn and Hempstead, LI, which generated more than $2 million dollars between August 2016 and September 2017.
Paz allegedly enlisted cop pals to help him stay up to date on investigations so that he could avoid getting caught. In exchange, some of his fellow officers would receive free or discounted romps with the prostitutes, police have alleged.
