N.J. gym owner charged with ignoring order to stay closed during coronavirus pandemic
The 52-year-old owner of a Point Pleasant Borough fitness center was issued a summons after she ignored repeated warnings from police about staying open during the coronavirus, authorities said.
Janice Lauria was cited Tuesday for violating Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order when Point Pleasant Borough police saw people going in and out of a side door to Anytime Fitness, according to a statement from the department.
Her son, Ryan Lauria, said in an email to NJ Advance Media that no customers have worked out since the gym closed and that police explained the business was permitted to continue to sell energy drinks and protein bars.
Cops said they began watching the gym after getting complaints that it was still open. On Tuesday, officers said they saw an opaque covering on the gym’s front windows, preventing people from looking inside. When police spoke with people who walked out of the fitness center, they admitted the owner allowed them to enter through a side door to work out inside, authorities said.
Ryan Lauria said police never entered the gym or saw anyone using gym equipment, adding that his family has donated energy drinks to local nurses working overnight shifts at local hospitals.
“For the town to slander our name like this is absurd and unfair,” Ryan Lauria wrote in the email. "(Police) have never stepped foot in the business so they have zero proof anyone was working out.”
Janice Lauria, of Point Pleasant Borough, faces up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine if convicted.
Murphy ordered fitness centers, movie theaters and casinos closed on March 16 in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
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