New Jersey dentist in fight with neighbor over risque Easter bunny lawn display
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A New Jersey woman unhappy with her neighbor's racy Easter display used some garden shears to damage it. But the display's owner says it will soon be back up. The display has drawn mixed reviews from neighbors, as well as passers-by who stopped to take photos. ( Ed Murray/NJ Advance Media via AP)
At a time when many homes display cute Easter symbols -- brightly colored eggs, and pastel-hued baskets -- one on the lawn of a dentist's office in New Jersey has attracted headlines because of its well-endowed and scantily-clad bunnies.
The display at a dental office in the city of Clifton featured five mannequins dressed in lingerie, fishnet stockings and colorful wigs, all holding Easter baskets and surrounded by Easter eggs. It had drawn mixed reviews from neighbors, as well as passers-by, some of whom stopped to take photos.
A television news crew was filming the decorations around 1 p.m. Tuesday when a woman — who lives in a home across the street from the dental office and identified herself as Desire Mozek— took it down with garden shears.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I think I did something right,” she said to the WPIX television crew. “That’s disgusting already.”
She continued: "I got a son, you know, he's 16 years old. He's a good boy, you know? He doesn't need to see this every time I take him back from school and stuff."
The owner of the display, Wayne Gangi, called it a “spoof.” He said the idea came to him when he saw giant Easter eggs while walking around a Party City store. He added that he liked Playboy bunnies when he was a child and thought the display would be funny.
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WPIX reported Gangi said the display was not really for Easter, but to pay homage to Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner. He balked at critics who say the display is an affront to the religious significance of Easter.
“My staff helped me put the characters out on the lawn and unfortunately there was a total spin on me attacking the celebration of Easter - it just wasn’t true,” Gangi said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tom Mozek, who answered the door at the home where the woman lives, told The Record, a statewide newspaper, she is not his wife and her name is Desire Shepstone. He did not elaborate on his relationship with the woman but said she and her son live at the home with him.
“I told her, ‘Don’t do it.’ She has to take responsibility for it,” he said, adding that she wasn’t available to speak to a reporter.
Gangi said he is in the process of filing a restraining order against the woman. Gangi said he thinks she appears to have been seeking attention rather than justice due to moral outrage.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Clifton police are investigating the incident, but it wasn’t clear Wednesday if the woman will face any charges.
Gangi estimated the damage to the display at $500 to $1,000.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.