Four people were arrested on Wednesday in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn after gathering in support of Carmella Charrington, a homeowner fighting eviction from her longtime family home. Charrington and local housing advocates say the sale of her property to investors in 2024 was a form of “deed theft,” a criminal practice where predatory speculators use forgery, deceit or fraud to illegally transfer ownership of properties, without the knowledge or full understanding of rightful owners.
“In my soul, I could not let that take place. I could not see a family, a Black family within Bed-Stuy, removed from a home,” says New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé, one of those arrested during the protest. He says his district has seen rapid gentrification and elderly Black homeowners have been repeatedly targeted by deed theft. Ossé is calling for a moratorium on evictions in cases where deed theft is suspected.