New York City council member Chi Ossé’s arrest during an eviction protest has pushed a particular type of housing fraud into the public eye, and the surprising rate of black owners affected by it.
Deed Theft is a type of fraud that has been plaguing homeowners for years, but the rate at which the black population has been enduring it has grown concerning. Deed theft typically happens when someone takes the rights of a home without the homeowner’s approval.
Typically, this happens when homeowners sign their deed over without realizing what they are signing, or being scammed, or having their identities stolen. For Carmella Charrington, this unfortunate led to her eviction and what started the eviction protest in the first place. Deed theft in Bedford-Stuyvesant and North Crown Heights has been an important issue for Osse, who oversees them.
This is largely because elderly black residents are prime targets for deed theft, who have been residents within generational homes and might have made unfortunate errors when filing or being deceived. This has led to more and more of the historically black neighborhoods within New York City being gutted, and it seems that this latest controversy was the boiling point.
For what seems to be the first time in a long battle, the NYC government is taking steps to fight against deed fraud. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced his plan to establish the city’s first-ever Office of Deed Theft Prevention last Friday. It aims to enforce measures against deed theft, coordinate with law enforcement, and promote preventive public education on safeguards to reduce such theft in the future. It’s a great first step, but the actual success of this office will need to be seen before residents can believe it.
