DSA Leader And ‘Rent Abolitionist’ Sued For Failing To Pay Rent

DSA leader and rent abolitionist Gustavo Gordillo is being sued for eviction after he stopped paying rent on a Brooklyn apartment, according to the New York Post.

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The New York City Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) co-chair signed a lease on a one-bedroom place in Crown Heights for $2,500 a month in May 2025. He skipped payments for months at a time and only occasionally caught up with a larger sum once the arrears reached three months, the outlet reported.

His landlord took him to housing court in March seeking $5,000 for the missed December and January payments. He did not file an answer, the Post reported, which let the landlord seek a default judgment. The case remains open and the apartment has already been rented to someone else.

His parents bought the Bedford-Stuyvesant row house in 2019 through Chucuito LLC for just under $1 million. It carries a fair market value of $1.4 million. Renovation plans filed in 2023 cover the facade, the interior, new landscaping and two decks, and work was still going on at the house this week.

Gordillo said housing court only mitigates harm and does not abolish landlords and rent which he calls the long-term socialist goals. He has also argued that no one should have a constitutional right to double digit returns on real estate investments.

Gordillo, who built a public profile as a blue-collar tradesman under the handle @unionGustavo, was terminated from his IBEW Local 3 apprenticeship in March after what the union called “prolonged absence from and failure to participate in work and classes.” He never completed the program and is separately three months behind on his union dues.

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Last month, without mentioning he had already been fired from the apprenticeship, Gordillo asked NYC-DSA members to convert his unpaid leadership role into a paid position, according to the Post. The group approved $95,000 a year plus benefits for him and co-chair Grace Mausser, both of whom took no salary in 2025.

“This should be surprising, but it isn’t,” City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino told the Post. “The entitlement of these rich DSA kids is bottomless. Even when his parents are paying his bills, he still stiffed his landlord.”

“It’s really appalling that these brats are in charge of our city now, when they’re so quick to screw over working people and can’t even manage their own lives,” she added.

Attorney Maud Maron noted that he has a luxury home to go with his luxury beliefs while DSA policies raise costs for everyone else without rich parents.

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The housing court case against Gordillo remains open.