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1. What Eric Rhea Wrote to a Teaneck Voter This Week:
“Well somebody turned off the comments and probably for the best. If I had time to entertain this request the week of the elections where I have much bigger fish to fry than debating the obvious divergence from the plain and simple writing on the wall I might but it is not in the cards this week. Once time frees up after the election I may consider your request. And for the record my immediate family has large multi-home development projects in New York, Detroit, Los Angeles and Philadelphia so I know a bit about how this all works. If I knew how much Teaneck was up for sale to the highest real estate bidder I may have run for council instead of school board but I and my family tend to live by integrity and what is the greater good.”
— Eric Rhea, Candidate for Teaneck Board of Education (Column A / “Team EFG”)
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Who is behind these four-city projects? Eric Rhea owns an interior design, moving, and furniture assembly business called Furnish My Space. Cross-referencing his Team EFG Campaign Bio with SEC Proxy Filings, State Street Board Disclosures, and Centerview Partners Executive Records confirms that the immediate family member connected to large housing projects in New York, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia is his older brother, John B. Rhea—former Chairman & CEO of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), Founder of RHEAL Capital Management, LLC, and Board Director at corporate landlord Invitation Homes Inc.
Eric Rhea asked Teaneck voters to judge his “integrity” and competence by his family’s real estate track record across those four cities. Here is what the official sources actually show:
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2. The Four-City Record of Noncompliance, Delays & Penalties
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Los Angeles & National
⚠ $48M FTC Fraud Penalty
Invitation Homes Inc. (Board Director, 2015–Present)
- $48 Million Federal Fraud Settlement: Per SEC Form 10-K Filings, Invitation Homes operates a massive rental portfolio across Los Angeles and Southern California. In Sept. 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Invitation Homes for deceiving renters, forcing a $48M settlement in the FTC Federal Court Docket, with $47.2M refunded to consumers in March 2026 according to CBS News.
- “Juice This Hog” Junk Fees: The FTC Federal Complaint revealed that Invitation Homes charged families over $1,700/yr in hidden mandatory junk fees and collected $18M+ in deceptive application fees after the CEO emailed executives to “juice this hog.”
- 33,328 Homes in Disrepair (Including Broken AC!): While Eric Rhea campaigns in Teaneck saying “Air Conditioning Can’t Wait” per BCNews Now, the FTC Investigation documented that 33,328 Invitation Homes properties needed work orders in the first week of move-in for broken AC in summer, no heat in winter, raw sewage backups, toxic mold, rodent feces, and exposed wiring—a process a senior manager internally called a “train wreck.”
- Withholding Security Deposits & Illegal Rent Gouging: Per the FTC Enforcement Order, Invitation Homes returned only 39.2% of tenant security deposits (vs. 63.9% national average) and steered tenants away from federal COVID-19 eviction protections, while the California Attorney General forced a separate Jan. 2024 settlement over unlawful rent gouging.
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Philadelphia
⚠ 10-Year Delay & $65M Cost
2012 Chestnut Street (RHEAL Capital Management Joint Venture)
- A Decade of Blight: Awarded a contract by the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) in Oct. 2016, the joint venture between Alterra Property Group and RHEAL Capital Management let the former PHA headquarters sit as a decaying, graffiti-covered eyesore for years according to Philly YIMBY, only starting foundation excavation in Oct. 2026 per Rittenhouse Ramblings—a full 10 years later.
- Housing Units Slashed by 39.5%: Originally announced by Alterra Property Group as a 20-story, 200-unit mixed-income building, Philly YIMBY documented that repeated restructurings shrank the project to 14 stories and 121 units while cutting commercial space from 4,500 to 2,000 sq. ft.
- $65 Million Price Tag: According to Rittenhouse Ramblings, federal HUD review holdups and rising material costs drove the project budget up by another $5 million to $65 million ($537,000+ per apartment).
- Quietly Dropped: Following contract restructurings in PHA Oct. 2022 Board Minutes, the PHA Feb. 2026 Board Resolutions show PHA overhauled the deal’s ownership structure and omitted RHEAL Capital from active development agent filings.
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Detroit
⚠ Partner Collapse & Zoning Issues
Fisher Building, Albert Kahn Building & Brush Park South (RHEAL Capital)
- 65% Majority Partner Imploded: RHEAL Capital teamed up with NY developer HFZ Capital Group (65% owner) and The Platform in 2015. As reported by Deadline Detroit and Historic Detroit, when HFZ collapsed amid foreclosures in 2021, investment froze and the Fisher Building was forced up for sale until The Platform bought out HFZ’s distressed stake in July 2022.
- Flipped Before Converting: After promising to convert floors 2–11 of the Albert Kahn Building into apartments per Lutz Real Estate, the partnership flipped the building in 2018 for $9.5M before completing the conversion according to WDIV ClickOnDetroit.
- Zoning Height Noncompliance: Per a Detroit City Planning Commission Report, RHEAL Capital designed its Brush Park South building over 67 feet tall—violating the 50-foot neighborhood cap by 34%—requiring a zoning amendment and city mandates to resolve structural and setback impacts on an abutting neighbor.
- $0 Reported Compensation: In his official FINRA BrokerCheck Filing (CRD# 1786181) through 2026, John Rhea reports receiving “no compensations as of yet” ($0) from RHEAL Capital across 12 years of operation.
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New York City
⚠ Scandals, Audits & Lawsuits
NYC Housing Authority (Chairman & CEO, 2009–2014)
- $1 Billion Hoarded Amid 400,000 Unfinished Repairs: Per City Limits, John Rhea left $1 billion in federal repair money unspent and froze $42M–$45M in security camera funds while tenants endured a 400,000 work-order backlog—prompting the former NYC Comptroller to demand Rhea’s firing as reported by the Amsterdam News.
- Federal Lead Paint Investigation: The U.S. Attorney (SDNY) Federal Filing and the NY State Senate Investigation exposed systemic failures to perform mandatory lead paint safety inspections at NYCHA during Rhea’s tenure.
- $10M Revolving-Door Contract: Per the New York Observer and the NYCHA–BCG Contract Report, Rhea paid $10M in NYCHA funds to his former employer, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), for an 87-page report ($124,000/page), spent $325,000 on a Javits Center employee rally per Patch, and rejoined BCG right after leaving NYCHA per SEC Proxy Disclosures.
- Sued by Legal Aid & City Council: As documented by City Limits, Rhea secretly targeted 8 public housing sites to lease land for 80% luxury towers without informing residents first, sparking a lawsuit from tenants, the Legal Aid Society, and the NYC Council.
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Teaneck Schools Can’t Afford Eric Rhea’s Version of “How This All Works”
Eric Rhea wants to fast-track millions in Teaneck school facilities bonds and contracts—and he told us his family’s real estate record proves he “knows a bit about how this all works.” Now Teaneck voters have the facts: $48M in FTC fraud settlements, $1B in unspent repair funds, 10-year construction delays, and participating in programs at the housing authority his own brother ran.
Click any highlighted source above to inspect the original federal court dockets, SEC filings, FINRA disclosures, municipal housing resolutions, and candidate questionnaires.
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