After a number of reports raised concerns about housing, unpaid rent, and union credentials, a well-known Brooklyn pastor is demanding the resignation of a local Democratic Socialists of America leader.
The question of whether the organization holds its own leadership to the same standards that it expects from employers, landlords, and elected officials is now at the center of the controversy.
Citing five specific issues, Rev. Kevin McCall publicly urged NYC-DSA co-chair Gustavo Gordillo to resign.
“The Democratic Socialists of America have become the Double Standards of America, demanding transparency, fairness, and accountability from everyone else while ignoring serious questions about one of their own,” McCall stated.
According to reports, Gordillo, 38, is one of the leaders of the DSA’s New York City chapter and receives a salary of about $95,000.
His parents bought a nearly 2,000-square-foot row home in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood through Chucuito LLC in 2019 for slightly less than $1 million.
The New York Post reported that the property is currently worth about $1.5 million.
Additionally, Gordillo’s parents are reportedly the owners of two multimillion-dollar residences in Florida, with properties in Weston and Boca Raton totaling about $6 million.
“The allegations surrounding NYC chapter co-chair Gustavo Gordillo raise troubling questions about whether he misled working-class New Yorkers about where he lived, how he obtained housing, and his labor credentials,” McCall said.
“DSA leaders and elected officials must answer these questions publicly and call for Gordillo’s resignation,” he added.
NYC-DSA co-chair Gustavo Gordillo reportedly called abolishing landlords and rent a long-term socialist goal.
Now, Gordillo faces a pending case seeking $5,000 in unpaid rent while a $1.5 million Brooklyn townhouse, reportedly gifted by his rich father, underwent at least $1.4… pic.twitter.com/qFp5gjGAg9
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) August 25, 2026
Zohran Mamdani defends DSA chair Gustavo Gordillo because, of course, he has to.
+ They were both born rich.
+ They both went to expensive private liberal arts colleges, and neither really worked after
+ They both lie (Mamdani said he was African American on his college… pic.twitter.com/bxU4G8TGOI— Michelle Tandler (@michelletandler) August 25, 2026
One of McCall’s concerns involves allegations that Gordillo’s family converted the Bedford-Stuyvesant property from a two-family home into a single-family residence.
McCall argued that such a conversion would reduce available housing in a historically black and brown neighborhood during a housing affordability crisis.
He also questioned whether Gordillo had been transparent about his residency at the property and whether he had been paying rent while living there.
Another major issue involves Gordillo’s public image as a union electrician.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3 reportedly removed Gordillo from its apprenticeship program in March after he stopped attending for months.
The union also said he never completed the requirements necessary to become a fully credentialed electrician.
McCall is demanding transparency about whether union labor was used during renovations to the Bedford-Stuyvesant property.
He also cited a separate housing dispute involving a Crown Heights apartment Gordillo rented while the townhouse was being renovated.
Court filings reportedly show that Gordillo is being sued in housing court over three missed rent payments of $2,500 each.
McCall argued that the case creates an uncomfortable contrast for someone leading an organization heavily focused on housing justice.
“At a time when NYCHA residents are living with mold, leaks, broken elevators, and apartments in desperate need of repair, it is unacceptable for a leader who claims to fight for housing justice to be connected to a luxury renovation that is reducing housing opportunities for Black residents in a historically Black Brooklyn community,” McCall said.
“That is not housing justice,” he continued. “That is not practicing what you preach.”
McCall works closely with residents of New York City Housing Authority properties and threatened to organize “days of action” with clergy members and NYCHA residents if the DSA does not address the concerns.
Neither Gordillo nor NYC-DSA responded to the Post’s request for comment, leaving several of McCall’s specific allegations unanswered.
The pending eviction case, union apprenticeship controversy and property records are now likely to remain central to the dispute, The New York Post reported.
For NYC-DSA, the controversy comes at a time when the organization has expanded its influence in local and national Democratic politics.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
