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Politics & Government

Village Passes Parking Ticket, Massage Parlor Laws

New measures designed to enforce parking tickets; ban unlicensed massage parlors.

The Farmingdale Village Board of Trustees passed the first local law of the new year, amending chapter 98 of the current vehicle and traffic code to allow penalties and judgements against unpaid parking tickets.

After 540 days any and all outstanding fines and penalties will be reduced to a judgement. All cost and fees related to preparing and filing for the judgement will be added to the cost of the unpaid fine. The code change mirrors New York State's traffic law. 

"Right now if you don't pay your parking ticket virtually nothing happens to you…We're not collecting our fair share of parking tickets and other tickets because there is no penalty," said Mayor Ralph Ekstrand, who said the violators will be notified with six letters before a final judgement is filed.

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The judgements will be filed in both Nassau and Suffolk County and prevent offenders from securing loans in their name.

"This is going to help us. This is going to put due process in place," said Trustee Thomas Ryan. 

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Massage Parlor Local Law

The local law created to prevent massage therapists who are not licensed and registered by the Department of Education from operating in the Village was passed Monday night.

Farmingdale resident Marie Freiss, a licensed massage therapist, said she was excited to see the village going after unlicensed therapists but feels the board is treating professionals in her field unfairly.

"I feel we are being penalized and set aside from the other health care professionals. I feel that as a massage therapist I am being penalized because people who do unlawful things do it under the guise of being a massage parlor," she said. 

Code enforcements officers can now demand massage therapists to present their New York State licenses. The law also requires therapists to obtain a license, free of charge, through the Village.

Ekstrand said businesses operating prior to the law's creation are not unassailable.

"We now can go in and our code enforcement can inspect them and they have to conform to the law…We can now go after them with some teeth," he said. 

The next board meeting with public comment will be held at Village Hall on Feb. 4 at 8 p.m.

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