Zombie display to return after causing dispute in NJ neighborhood

Tuesday, October 27, 2020
HAWTHORNE, New Jersey (WABC) -- People are horrified - horrified that the zombie display is gone.

The homeowner's son, Justin Rodriguez, says police came by and said they were getting a lot of complaints, and that people pulling up could be ticketed at any moment.
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Justin's dad, Antonio Rodriguez has been putting up the display for 15 years - it takes him 30 days to set up, and it's a big deal.

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Late Monday night, the family got word that they can reassemble the zombie display. A long line of cars drove by their house to show support - including police.

Antonio was inspired by Carnival in his native Portugal and by Michael Jackon's 'Thriller.' His son says he never wanted to be a problem.



"My dad just loves Halloween," says Justin, "My dad has spent countless hours prepping for all of this. He doesn't make a profit on any of this, he just does it because he loves to do it.

The problem was complaints about traffic on their narrow road, and people getting crowded together during the pandemic.
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Police tweeted that they never asked him to remove anything.

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