A US Navy veteran is seeking unspecified damages from Spa Castle in College Point, Queens, claiming she developed a severe bacterial infection after celebrating her birthday at the establishment on July 30. The lawsuit, filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court on August 14, alleges that Cleopatra Brown, 62, contracted cellulitis—an infection causing itching, swelling, and pain—on her right leg and foot.
Brown, who served in the Navy from 1982 to 1988 and was recognized in the New York State Senate’s Veterans’ Hall of Fame, alleges the spa failed to maintain a safe environment. The lawsuit contends that the facility did not properly sterilize robes and towels, nor did it adequately clean its locker rooms, floors, and pools. Specifically, the filing states the spa failed to test its hot tubs and pools, ensure disinfectant levels were safe, and maintain the business in a reasonably safe manner.
Spa Castle has previously faced scrutiny for its conditions. Reports from 2016 described patrons engaging in sexual activity within the facility's pools, with an anonymous staffer at the time noting management's difficulty in addressing the issue. The lawsuit filed by Brown does not mention any such activities.
The city's Health Department temporarily shut down the spa for approximately two months in March 2016. This action followed an incident where a 6-year-old girl nearly drowned after her hair became caught in a pool filter, with the department citing the facility's failure to adhere to safety standards. In a separate incident in 2014, an 84-year-old patron was found deceased at the bottom of an outdoor hot tub; an autopsy determined the cause of death to be hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Spa Castle and the city's Health Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the lawsuit.