Petition against massage parlour gaining momentum

An inner-city youth agency says its petition to prevent an eroticmassage parlour from opening two doors down is gaining momentum.

"People are feeling that what we are trying to do in terms of our petition is meaningful and makes senseusing common sense not to have that kind of industry next to a centre where there are vulnerable people," said Miri Peterson, executive director of Crystal Kids.

So far 12,000 people have signed a petition backed byCrystal Kids, a drop-in centre for kids on 118th Avenue at 88th Street.

The proposal will be debated at a city appeal board meeting Thursday.

Peterson says she hopes to have 20,000 names when shepresents the petition to the city's subdivision and development appeal board Thursday.