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1. What Happened Outside the Early Voting Site on Sunday:
On Sunday, November 1, 2026, during early voting at the Richard Rodda Community Center, Teaneck Board of Education candidate Eric Rhea (Column A / “Team EFG”) confronted the author of Teaneck Today in the parking lot while the author was waiting with his young child and his wife was inside voting.
Summary of Incident Reported to Teaneck Police:
- Eric Rhea approached the author in the Rodda Center parking lot and immediately demanded: “What do you have to say for yourself?”
- Rhea then told the author that he didn’t know who he was dealing with, threatened that he would “f*** [him] up,” and warned that the author “better pray” Rhea gets elected.
- When the author pulled out his phone and began recording, Rhea repeated the warning [“Pray I get elected”] directly on camera.
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▶ Watch the Video Captured Outside Rodda Center Early Voting (Nov. 1, 2026)
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Verbatim Transcript of Video Recording:
Resident: “You’re not going to sit and threaten me.”
Eric Rhea: “Pray I get elected.”
Resident: “Why should I pray you get elected? Tell me.”
Eric Rhea: (Walks behind campaign table, turns toward the camera, and laughs)
Asked to comment about why he brought my children up on a thread about taxes, Rhea chose insults about the author’s family:Eric Rhea: “Don’t speak to me. Don’t speak to me, Keith. Did I say something about your family? I didn’t say nothing about your ugly ass wife and your funny-looking kids. So, beat it!“
Resident: “This is the way you talk? You’re going to be a trustee on the Board of Ed, and this is the way you speak to people?”
Eric Rhea: This has got to do with you. It’s personal; you made it personal.
Resident: “I didn’t make it personal. You started asking about my kids as if where my kids go to school matters to who is going to be on the Board of Ed.”
Eric Rhea: (called away by George Fernandez to speak with his wife, Liza Fernandez, another candidate for BOE). |
After bringing his child home safely, the author returned to the Rodda Center and called in an official report to the Teaneck Police Department.
In additional video turned over to the Teaneck Police Department, Rhea can be heard making disturbing comments about the resident’s wife and children.
With Teaneck voters heading to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, this incident raises an urgent question for our entire community: Is a candidate who confronts a parent in the parking lot of an early voting site, threatens physical harm, and warns a resident on camera to “Pray I get elected” fit to serve in public office as a trustee on the Teaneck Board of Education?
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2. The Backstory: The Real Estate Investigation Eric Rhea Didn’t Want Voters to See
Sunday’s parking lot confrontation occurred after Teaneck Today investigated a message Eric Rhea sent earlier this week boasting about his immediate family’s real estate empire:
| “…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 |
Cross-referencing Eric Rhea’s Team EFG Campaign Bio with SEC Proxy Filings, FINRA BrokerCheck (CRD# 1786181), and Centerview Partners Disclosures confirmed that the projects across those four cities trace back to 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 since 2015 at corporate landlord Invitation Homes Inc. (NYSE: INVH).
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Key Findings From Our Four-City Investigation:
- Los Angeles & National (Invitation Homes Inc. — Board Director, 2015–Present): Sued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in Sept. 2024 and hit with a $48 million fraud settlement ($47.2M refunded to tenants in March 2026 per CBS News) for charging families $1,700+/yr in hidden junk fees (“juice this hog”), withholding 60.8% of tenant security deposits, and leasing 33,328 homes requiring Week-1 maintenance orders for broken AC in summer, no heat in winter, sewage backups, mold, and rodent feces. Also forced into a Jan. 2024 settlement with the California Attorney General for unlawful rent gouging.
- Philadelphia (2012 Chestnut St. — RHEAL Capital JV): Awarded a contract by the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) in Oct. 2016, the joint venture left the old PHA headquarters sitting as a graffiti-covered eyesore for 10 years before excavation began in Oct. 2026 per Rittenhouse Ramblings—after housing units were slashed by 39.5% (from 200 to 121), costs jumped by $5M to $65M, and RHEAL Capital was omitted from PHA Feb. 2026 Board Resolutions.
- Detroit (Fisher Bldg, Kahn Bldg & Brush Park — RHEAL Capital): Majority 65% partner HFZ Capital collapsed amid foreclosures in 2021, freezing investment and forcing the Fisher Building up for sale per Deadline Detroit; Brush Park South required a zoning overhaul after exceeding the 50-foot height cap at 67+ feet per the Detroit City Planning Commission; and John Rhea reports $0 compensation from RHEAL Capital across 12 years in his FINRA Filing.
- New York City (NYCHA — Chairman & CEO, 2009–2014): Left $1 billion in federal repair funds unspent amid a 400,000 repair backlog per City Limits, faced a U.S. Attorney (SDNY) Lead Paint Investigation, and paid $10M to his former employer, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), before rejoining BCG in 2014 per the NY Observer and SEC Filings.
- Eric Rhea’s Own NYCHA Conflict: In his 2026 League of Women Voters (Vote411.org) Filing, Eric Rhea demands school hiring “without nepotism”—yet on that exact same page discloses that his company, Furnish My Space, was an “Employment program provider for New York City Housing Authority” and worked on the “NYCHA Hurricane Sandy disaster – displaced housing renovation program” (Oct. 2012) while his brother John was NYCHA Chairman & CEO.
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Read the Full 4-City Real Estate Investigation Here →
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Teaneck Voters Decide Tuesday, November 3
A Board of Education trustee is entrusted with the safety of our children, the stewardship of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, and the temperament to lead by example. When questioned about his record, Eric Rhea responded by confronting a parent outside an early voting site and telling him on camera: “Pray I get elected.”
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