Gotham Housing Alliance Hired Zombie Actors at Demonstration

In their defense, they said the performance would be theatrical.

But when Humberto Lopes’ Gotham Housing Alliance showed up to one of New York’s rental board hearings with a team of zombies carrying flags and signs, there was perhaps more dramatic tension than anticipated.

The crowd of zombies, complete with dripping blood and rotting teeth, filled out a crowd of small landlords who had come to discuss how a rent freeze would affect them.

The zombies, it turns out, were paid actors — and not told about the nature of their performance. Many said they did not wish to be seen supporting Gotham Housing Alliance or landlords.

“Un-fucking-believeable,” one of the zombies told The Real Deal at the event. “We’re all supporting the goddamn Republicans.”

Asked if she supported the cause she was marching for, the zombie responded, “Fuck no.”

Gotham Housing Alliance is a group created by Lopes to support property owners. As the city’s Rent Guidelines Board considers a freeze on rents in regulated apartments, which make up half of New York’s rental stock, landlords have rallied against the proposal.

At this hearing, the board was set to hear testimony from residents about how a rent increase or freeze would affect them. Gotham Housing Alliance’s publicity stunt succeeded in getting eyeballs on the group and their supporters, which included State Sen. Stephen Chan. But it also gave ammunition to tenants’ groups and underscored how landlords face an uphill battle to win public support.

“I was like, ‘keep your head down, keep your head down,’” said the zombie, who wished to remain anonymous. “‘Please don’t recognize me.’”

The zombie march began in a park and proceeded across the street to New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn, where the Rent Guidelines Board was prepared to hear testimony.

The zombies carried flags sporting the name of Gotham Housing Alliance and signs that included “RGB ARE MAMDANI ZOMBIES.”

When the group proceeded past a mass of tenant organizations that had come out to testify, the two sides shouted at one another.

In line for the event, several zombies were morose, saying they were trying to avoid cameras and were only paid $75 for their two-hour appearance.

The casting call they had responded to said they would be participating in a “mock demonstration for a short video for a non-profit company” and that the video would be used “for instructional purposes.” Nothing political was mentioned.

Lopes is a landlord who has gained notoriety for his public outrage at Mayor Zohran Mamdani. In a profanity-laden TikTok posted in February, he said landlords would “destroy the fucking city” by engaging in a property tax strike.

“Let’s start not paying the property tax for this quarter coming up. We’ll fucking bankrupt this city!” he shouted in the video.

Lopes started Gotham Housing Alliance as a membership organization to support the interests of property owners. The organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tenant Bloc, a tenant organization, put out a press release just hours later decrying the performance. “Landlords have repeatedly said they cannot survive a rent freeze but have money to burn on political theater while tenants struggle to afford basics like groceries and medicine,” it said.

As landlords try to fight a possible rent freeze and protect revenue for their buildings, they have struggled to get voters on their side. Now that the mayor, who promised a rent freeze on the campaign trail, has stacked the board with his nominees, the battle has become higher stakes. At the board’s preliminary vote in May, members approved an increase in a range starting with zero, meaning a possible freeze.

Several small landlords at the hearing said they were there to talk about how the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 gutted their finances and made it impossible to maintain their buildings.

All anyone could talk about, however, was the zombies.