The next day, after footage of Oss\u00e9\u2019s arrest made headlines, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the launch of the Office of Deed Theft Prevention, an agency dedicated to investigating deed theft and educating New Yorkers on the issue, The City reported.<\/p>\n
The new office, helmed by attorney Peter White, delivers on one of Mamdani\u2019s campaign promises, though the budget attached to it \u2014 $500,000 in 2026 and $1 million in the years after \u2014 falls short of the $10 million he initially pledged to throw behind it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Deed theft, typically when someone forges documents or defrauds another into signing documents to turn over their home, has been a popular topic among New York electeds in recent years, as high-profile criminal cases have come into focus. Last year, Brooklyn real estate investor Sanford Solny was convicted on 17 charges<\/a> related to deed theft and sentenced to up to seven years in prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also in 2025, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has been cracking down on the issue, indicted two people<\/a> for allegedly falsifying property records to steal the home of a dying widow in Kew Gardens.\u00a0<\/p>\n James has also partnered with state lawmakers to pass legislation that established deed theft as a crime, broadened the criminal statute of limitations and expanded options for victims to combat incidents in civil court.\u00a0<\/p>\n But according to James, what happened to Carmella Charrington, the Brooklyn woman facing eviction this week that led to Oss\u00e9\u2019s arrest, may not have been deed theft at all. The brownstone where Charrington lives was caught up in her father\u2019s conservatorship case, and the conservator, with the court\u2019s approval, sold the property in 2024. James instead classified the case as a property dispute.\u00a0<\/p>\n As my colleague Erik Engquist noted in Thursday\u2019s Daily Dirt<\/a>, labeling other issues as deed theft when they\u2019re not risks muddying the waters for cases that truly fit the bill. Figuring out how to navigate that \u2014 especially while getting such widespread attention \u2014 will be the real challenge for both Mamdani and this new agency.<\/p>\n What we\u2019re thinking about: Earlier this week, a former Coldwell Banker franchise in New York told The Real Deal about its decision to split from Compass<\/a> after the Anywhere acquisition and instead operate as an independent shop. Will other agents and affiliates go the same route, and what are the other impacts of the merger on New York\u2019s residential industry? Send thoughts to sheridan.wall@therealdeal.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n A thing we\u2019ve learned: Bird watchers have spotted a recently hatched peregrine falcon in a nest on the 14th story of 55 Water Street, the New York Times<\/a> reported. The baby falcon \u2014 called an \u201ceyas\u201d \u2014 appears to have made its debut earlier this month, when it was spotted on the Falcon Cam<\/a>, a live video feed aimed at the nest.\u00a0<\/p>\n Elsewhere\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 At a hearing Tuesday, the Hempstead Town Board is slated to discuss a proposal to reduce the building area on a residential lot in Levittown from 30 percent to 27.5 percent, according to Newsday<\/a>. Industry players, some of whom have pushed back against the plan, say it could change the area\u2019s new development market. \u201cYou\u2019re allowed to build a bigger house in Levittown than you can anywhere else,\u201d Long Island architect Brian Lynch told the outlet. \u201cThat\u2019s why everyone\u2019s buying these houses in Levittown and knocking them down and building these mansions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Park Police have removed about 150 feet of fence around Battery Park, which drew complaints from tourists and residents that it obstructed views of the Statue of Liberty, NBC New York<\/a> reported. Some New York City lawmakers began advocating for the fence\u2019s removal after it was erected in March.<\/p>\n Closing time<\/p>\n Residential: The most expensive residential sale recorded Friday was $19.4 million<\/a> for 20 East 76th St, PH2. The new construction condo unit in Lenox Hill is 2,900 square feet. Douglas Elliman\u2019s Michelle Griffith and Lauren Muss have the listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction was $316 million<\/a> for 575 Fifth Avenue. Beacon Capital Partners sold the 40-story, 540,000-square-foot<\/a> office and retail condo space to Sovereign Partners.<\/p>\n New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $15 million for 730 Park Avenue, Unit 15\/16A. The Lenox Hill co-op has four bedrooms and five bathrooms. Brown Harris Stevens has the listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Joseph Jungermann<\/p>\n \tRead more \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Council member arrested while protesting alleged deed theft<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Brooklyn deed thief sentenced for swindling distressed homeowners\u00a0<\/p>\n
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