NEW YORK \u2014 New York City Council Member Chi Oss\u00e9 was arrested Wednesday while protesting a planned eviction of one of his constituents in Brooklyn, according to his staff and NYPD officials.<\/p>\n
Oss\u00e9, a democratic socialist and close ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, was among a group of protesters seen in videos posted to social media<\/a> trying to block access to a property in Bedford-Stuyvesant where city marshals were slated to execute an eviction.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Oss\u00e9 can be heard asking in a video while approaching officers arresting a fellow demonstrator.<\/p>\n After a brief, unintelligible back-and-forth, an officer can be seen grabbing Oss\u00e9\u2019s jacket collar and shoving him to the ground before placing him in cuffs.<\/p>\n \u201cMotherfucker, that\u2019s a Councilmember, what the fuck are you doing?\u201d a protester can be heard shouting at the cops as they cuff him. \u201cYou\u2019re going to be all over the national news tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n An aide to Oss\u00e9 confirmed to POLITICO on Wednesday morning that the Council member was being held at a police precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant after the arrest.<\/p>\n An NYPD spokesperson said Oss\u00e9 received a desk appearance ticket and is being charged with one count of obstructing governmental administration and two counts of disorderly conduct. He was among several protesters arrested after ignoring verbal commands to disperse, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n According to Oss\u00e9\u2019s office, the planned eviction was the result of \u201cdeed theft,\u201d a form of fraud in which ownership of a property is illegally transferred to a third party. According to the state attorney general\u2019s office, deed theft complaints have skyrocketed<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n In an unsigned statement after his arrest, Oss\u00e9\u2019s office noted that he has called for a moratorium on evictions stemming from alleged deed thefts, which are seen as disproportionately impacting Black New Yorkers.<\/p>\n \u201cThese protections are the bare minimum, and families cannot wait any longer. Not another Black homeowner should have their home stolen,\u201d the statement said. \u201cUntil deed theft ends, we will fight every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani, who\u2019s close with Oss\u00e9 and a longtime critic of the NYPD, said at an unrelated press conference Wednesday morning that he had not yet seen video of the arrest, but called it \u201cincredibly concerning\u201d after a reporter described it.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s exactly something that we’re going to follow up on, not just on the nature of this arrest, but also what was the underlying issue that was being protested,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cI know he’s been on the front lines of fighting deed theft. It’s especially prevalent in his Council district, and I appreciate, frankly, the efforts that he’s led in the past on ensuring that this is front of mind for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n