Brookhaven, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Brookhaven Code § 85-1 defines a "massage establishment" as any establishment with a fixed place of business where massages are administered for pay, including massage parlors, sauna baths and steam baths, but the definition specifically excludes hospitals, nursing homes, medical clinics, and the offices of a physician, surgeon, chiropractor, osteopath or duly licensed massage therapist, along with barbershops, beauty salons, spas and health clubs that do not draw their primary revenue from massage. Any use meeting that definition is classified as an adult use under § 85-561A, alongside adult bookstores, adult motels, adult theaters and peep shows, and can only operate after the Town Board grants a special permit under Article XIX of the zoning chapter.

Before granting that permit, the Town Board applies the siting standards in § 85-569A: the establishment cannot sit within a 500-foot radius of any residentially zoned area, within a one-mile radius of another adult use, or within 1,000 feet of a school, church, park, playground, library, hospital or similar place of public assembly, including dance, swimming or gymnastics instruction programs. No more than one adult use may occupy a single lot. On top of the zoning special permit, Chapter 54 of the Town Code requires the operator to file a written application with the Town Clerk stating the applicant's name, the license sought, the location, and the fee to be paid, and the Commissioner of Public Safety may fingerprint certain licensees for a criminal history check through the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. A felony conviction or a crime of moral turpitude can be grounds to deny or revoke the permit under § 54-2C.