Alleged massage parlor
is shut down again

For the second time in less than two months, the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections has ordered an alleged massage parlor in Fox Chase shut down.
L&I inspectors posted a cease operations order on the front door of 431 Rhawn St. on Friday afternoon. The red and white striped sign notes that the business does not have the proper permits to provide massage services at that location. A similar cease operations notice was posted on the same door on March 28, when neighborhood complaints about the location prompted L&I to act.
L&I officials on Monday did not return telephone calls requesting comment on the site. Following the March 28 action, however, Deputy Commissioner Dominic Verdi explained that the site is licensed as a nail salon, not a massage parlor.
No Philadelphia police were involved in either L&I action, according to a police spokeswoman.
The March 28 notice instructed the proprietor to obtain required city permits before reopening for business. It is unknown what subsequent activity on the site prompted the latest L&I posting. The building, a three-story house in the midst of a commercial strip, has no signs on it identifying it as a nail salon or a massage parlor. ••