Senator Avella Reacts to Spa Castle Campaign Contributions

Queens, NY – This afternoon, Senator Tony Avella responded to yesterday’s New York Post article detailing campaign contributions from indicted Spa Castle owners to elected officials in the borough. Since his days in the New York City Council, Senator Avella and his constituents have raised concerns over Spa Castle’s questionable business practices and unsafe conditions for patrons and employees alike.

The article, referencing campaign filings, details the substantial donations sent from Spa Castle owners to Queens members of Congress Joe Crowley and Grace Meng and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. An additional search showed contributions to a member of the New York City Councilman Paul Vallone. Last week, four owners of Spa Castle were indicted on eleven felony charges each for tax fraud.

“After years of expressing my concerns about Spa Castle, I was not surprised to find out that the owners were being indicted for tax fraud. What was a surprise, however, was that the staggering amount of critical health violations, deplorable work conditions for employees, or a man dying in one of their hot tubs was not enough to shut this place down. Thanks to this Post article, now I understand why they haven’t been shut down. It’s a disgrace that campaign contributions matter more than constituent complaints these days,” said Senator Avella.

As a City Councilmember, Senator Avella first raised serious questions about the site’s safety operations in 2008, after touring the facilities. During the visit, he noticed that fire exits were mislabeled, blocked with stored equipment, and in one case, padlocked.

Most notably, the Queens Senator demanded action in 2014 when a man was found dead in a spa castle hot tub. The spa was shut down for a period of time due to the dangerous conditions in one of their pools.