Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Sign up for\u00a0The Agenda<\/a>, Them\u2019s news and politics newsletter, delivered Thursdays.<\/p>\n New York City Council Member Chi Oss\u00e9 was arrested Wednesday during an anti-eviction protest in Brooklyn\u2019s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.<\/p>\n In a video posted to the 36th District Council Member\u2019s Instagram account, Oss\u00e9 can be seen standing in front of a home in Bed-Stuy alongside other demonstrators, before NYPD officers throw him to the ground and handcuff him.<\/p>\n \u201cCouncil Member Chi Oss\u00e9 was just arrested while defending his constituent, Carmella Charrington, from eviction,\u201d the video caption reads.<\/a> \u201cThis is the result of deed theft and the ongoing displacement of Black homeowners in Bed-Stuy.\u201d<\/p>\n Deed theft<\/a>, a term that describes transferring the deed to a home without the knowledge of the original owner, has been an area of attention for Oss\u00e9, who has been pushing for an eviction moratorium in such cases for the past several months, per a statement from his office. The phenomenon disproportionately affects Black and Latinx homeowners, and has been the target of state-level legislation in New York since 2023<\/a> and reportedly tripled in the last three years.<\/a> An advocate<\/a> for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ rights, and reinvesting city budget in local communities, Oss\u00e9 was first elected to the council in 2021 and re-elected in 2025.<\/p>\n At the center of Wednesday\u2019s protest is Carmella Charrington, a constituent of Oss\u00e9\u2019s whose family has lived in the same Bed-Stuy home for 103 years, per the magazine Brownstoner<\/a>, and who was jailed on Rikers Island<\/a> last week after fighting to prevent what she has called an illegal deed theft. The demonstration today was another attempt to prevent the family from being evicted from the home.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are outraged by the violent arrest of our colleague Council Member Chi Oss\u00e9, and demand his immediate release from NYPD custody,\u201d fellow New York City Council Members Alexa Avil\u00e9s, Tiffany Cab\u00e1n, and Shahana Hanif wrote in a joint statement following the arrest. \u201cWe witnessed a brutal police attack on a Council Member and community members defending a Black homeowner facing eviction through illegal deed theft. We again demand that Governor Hochul enact an eviction moratorium.\u201d<\/p>\n Constituents sounded off in the comments of the Instagram caption, condemning the NYPD for arresting the Council Member, including high profile queer and trans New Yorkers such as Gaydar host Anania, performer and organizer Chiquitita, and social media creator Antoni Bumba.<\/p>\n \u201cFREE CHI NOW!!!\u201d LGBTQ+ activist and costume designer Qween Jean wrote in the comments of the video.<\/p>\n Oss\u00e9 is currently being held and processed at the 79th Precinct at 263 Tompkins Avenue in Bed-Stuy. His office has asked supporters to consider donating to Charrington\u2019s GoFundMe for her legal fees while incarcerated.<\/p>\n \u201cWe encourage you to show up to the precinct to call for his release and support Black homeowners whose homes are being stolen through deed theft,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n Get the best of what\u2019s queer.\u00a0Sign up for\u00a0Them\u2019s weekly newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n Originally Appeared on them.<\/a><\/p>\n