Four people were arrested Wednesday morning at a chaotic protest against deed theft in Brooklyn after gathering outside a brownstone in support of a woman who is fighting attempts to evict her from the home.<\/p>\n
Among those arrested outside the house in Bedford-Stuyvesant, which the woman\u2019s family owned for decades, was the local city councilman, Chi Oss\u00e9. He was wrestled to the ground by police officers and handcuffed as he lay facedown on the sidewalk, videos<\/a> of the episode<\/a> show. He was released later in the afternoon.<\/p>\n Mr. Oss\u00e9, 28, was charged with obstructing governmental administration, a misdemeanor, and with two counts of disorderly conduct, a lesser offense. Speaking outside the 79th Precinct station house after his release, he said he would file<\/a> a \u201cmisconduct report\u201d against the officers who \u201cslammed me on the ground.\u201d He said at least two other protesters had concussions stemming from the incident, and Mr. Oss\u00e9\u2019s staff said that he was headed to a hospital to be checked for a possible concussion himself.<\/p>\n The Police Department said in a statement that Mr. Oss\u00e9 was taken down \u201cas is within guidelines for making an arrest\u201d after he appeared to \u201cflail his arms and hands to prevent officers from restraining him.\u201d The other three people who were arrested were all charged with the same offenses as Mr. Oss\u00e9, the police said.<\/p>\n The house, on Jefferson Avenue, is the latest front in the ongoing struggle against deed theft, a practice in which scammers take ownership of homes through fraud, often by forging homeowners\u2019 signatures or tricking them into signing over deeds by promising to take care of financial concerns like mortgages and unpaid utilities.<\/p>\n State officials said on Wednesday that the dispute over the Bedford-Stuyvesant house did not constitute deed theft.<\/p>\n Still, the practice has long been a concern<\/a> in New York City, with thieves targeting older residents who have significant equity in homes they have owned for decades. State and city officials have sought<\/a> to crack down on the practice.<\/p>\n The issue has become more urgent in recent years as neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant that are home to many Black residents have gentrified, sending property values soaring. Investors have snapped up homes, in some cases looking to sell them for a quick profit or rent them out at high costs, and many longtime Black residents have been displaced.<\/p>\n The police said that law enforcement officers had gone to the house early Wednesday morning to execute a judge\u2019s eviction order. When the officers arrived, they found protesters blocking the entrance of the building and called for the police.<\/p>\n Eventually, the police said, there were 30 protesters who disregarded \u201cmultiple verbal commands\u201d to stop blocking the eviction. After two people were arrested, Mr. Oss\u00e9 pushed past officers and began to block the gate himself, the police said.<\/p>\n The woman whose eviction was being sought, Carmella Charrington, was jailed at Rikers Island from last Thursday until Tuesday on civil contempt charges related to the dispute over ownership of the house, city officials said.<\/p>\n Ms. Charrington and housing advocates have described her case as deed theft. But a voluminous amount of paperwork, and several court cases, paint a complicated picture.<\/p>\n The office of the attorney general, Letitia James, said on Wednesday that it had reviewed the facts and determined that Ms. Charrington\u2019s case was not an example of deed theft. Instead, the office said, it appeared to be a property dispute that originated with competing claims by the former co-owners of the property, one of whom was Ms. Charrington\u2019s father.<\/p>\n A conservator representing the father, Allman Charrington, received approval to sell the property, and city records show that the home was sold in January 2024 to a company called 227 Group L.L.C.<\/p>\n In July 2024, 227 Group filed an eviction case against Ms. Charrington and others who they said were occupying the second floor of the home without a lease.<\/p>\n Ms. Charrington has said in court papers that her family had owned the property for more than 60 years, and that 227 Group had \u201corchestrated a fake sale.\u201d Housing advocates have rallied around Ms. Charrington, saying her case is an example of how investors and other predatory landlords deceive Black families out of their wealth.<\/p>\n In a statement, Grant Fox, a spokesman for the attorney general\u2019s office, called the videos of Mr. Oss\u00e9\u2019s arrest \u201cdeeply disturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOver the past year, the Office of the Attorney General has been in contact with Ms. Charrington to offer guidance and advice, and we will continue to work with community leaders and advocates to stop deed theft and keep New Yorkers in their homes,\u201d Mr. Fox said.<\/p>\n Mr. Oss\u00e9, a Democrat, and housing activists have called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to issue a moratorium on evictions in which deed theft is suspected. In a letter to Ms. Hochul in February, Mr. Oss\u00e9 and several other Council members said the city had<\/a> received 3,500 complaints related to deed theft between 2014 and 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile scammers continue to prey on vulnerable homeowners, our city lacks the necessary resources to prevent, investigate, and prosecute crimes of deed theft,\u201d the letter reads.<\/p>\n On April 6, 227 Group filed a notice that it planned to evict Ms. Charrington in 14 days. A lawyer representing 227 Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.<\/p>\n