For 25 years, Dr. Wayne Gangi has turned the lawn of his Clifton home into a sprawling Halloween spectacle that pulls in thousands of visitors, some from out of state. Now he says he's suspending it indefinitely after the city hit him with fines over how he arranged his corn stalks.
Gangi announced the decision in a Facebook post, saying the display would be put on hold indefinitely, according to NJ.com. The dentist, who practices in Clifton, told the outlet he received city code violations for installing two rows of corn stalks at the front of his property — one at the edge of his lawn and a second in the grass between the sidewalk and curb. He has included cornstalks in the display since 2020, per the same report.
Gangi said the fines were enforced after residents complained about the cornstalks, and he described feeling persecuted over something he intended purely for public enjoyment. He also said the display was sabotaged by erroneous complaints, the outlet reported. To cover the fines, Gangi said he plans to return 3,000 candy bars he bought from Costco for trick-or-treaters.
City Says It's About the Curb, Not the Costume
Clifton City Manager Gary S. DeMarzo told NJ.com that unauthorized objects placed between the sidewalk and curb violate city ordinances, and that the city prohibits such objects in the public right-of-way. DeMarzo said the city enforces its ordinances fairly and consistently for public safety, but he did not specify which ordinances Gangi violated or how much he was fined, according to the same report.
Clifton's own right-of-way permit materials, published by the City of Clifton, show that a first offense tied to that section of city code can carry a fine of $100 to $500 and up to 90 days in county jail, with separate offenses potentially counted for each day a violation continues. The same materials state that materials, vehicles or equipment cannot be placed in roadway or sidewalk areas until required construction, signs, lights, devices and pavement markings are installed.
A Pattern of Friction With the City
This isn't the first time Gangi's Halloween show has run into municipal pushback. In a 2013 report from Montclair Local, Clifton police had already begun issuing traffic tickets to the crowds flocking to see what the outlet called an extravagant display that grew bigger and gorier every year — and city officials at the time had ordered Gangi to remove decorations he'd attached to city-owned trees.
The tension escalated further in a separate CBS New York report, which described officials claiming the display on Grove Street posed a traffic hazard for passing cars and pedestrians. That report noted police issued hundreds of traffic summonses in a prior year and vowed to do so again, with Gangi saying as many as 5,000 to 8,000 people showed up on Halloween night alone. City officials at the time suggested Gangi hire two off-duty police officers at his own expense to manage the crowds.
Officials Insist They're Not Trying to Shut It Down
Then-City Manager Matt Watkins said in that CBS report that officials weren't trying to stop the display, just make it safer for the public, adding that Gangi wasn't breaking any laws and remained free to decorate his own private property however he wished. Gangi, for his part, said he provided the decorations to the community free of charge and handed out candy to several thousand children each year.
The back-and-forth even led Gangi to dismantle the display once before. A separate CBS New York account described him packing up his ghouls and goblins after what he said was pressure from town leadership, ending what was then a 12-year tradition that had taken two months to build each fall.
Halloween decorating at Gangi's property has sparked conflict beyond city hall, too. In April 2019, NJ.com reported that an angry neighbor tore down an Easter-themed Playboy bunny display at his home, resulting in a third-degree criminal mischief charge over alleged damage exceeding $2,000. Gangi told the outlet at the time that Clifton police had sent nearly two dozen officers for crowd control after a Halloween display drew large numbers of trick-or-treaters.
Elaborate home haunts have stirred controversy elsewhere in the region as well. NBC10 Philadelphia reported that a Bucks County Halloween display depicting bodies hanging from a tree drew backlash from residents and the NAACP, underscoring how quickly a yard decoration can become a flashpoint far beyond its own block.
