Opinion: Hochul must act as deed theft pushes New Yorkers out of their homes

Black homeownership in New York City is under attack. The very communities that survived redlining and disinvestment now face a quieter threat. In neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Harlem and Southeast Queens, Black homeowners, especially seniors and women, are having the deeds to their homes stolen. It happens through fraud, deception and cruel pressure campaigns. That must end.

Nearly 70% of New York City households are renters, and there’s no doubt that tenants are the backbone of this city. I wrote the law banning forced broker fees, saving renters thousands of dollars. But housing justice cannot end at the front door of a rental apartment.

I represent Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights, neighborhoods shaped by generations of Black homeowners. These homes aren’t mere assets. For many families, they are one of the only paths to building wealth. They represent the quiet pride of finally owning something in a city that rarely makes permanence possible. But what began as affordable homes for raising families are now among the most sought-after real estate prizes in the city.

For decades, the dream of generational wealth has been thwarted through a system that works faster for predators than for the people who actually live inside these homes. Deed theft is one of the most pervasive and least discussed housing crises in New York, even targeting homes where the mortgage is already paid off or nearly paid off. These criminals depend on people not understanding convoluted paperwork and being unfamiliar with the legal system. 

In my district, a Brooklyn family inherited their home on Jefferson Avenue from their parents. One of the sisters sought a loan modification to make repairs and signed papers presented as routine, not knowing documents had been slipped into the stack that transferred the deed. By the time they understood what had happened, the property had been transferred, and the family was pulled into a legal battle that dragged on for years. The stress consumed her, and she died still fighting to reclaim the house. Her relatives, grieving and without the resources to continue, are still fighting.

These stories are not rare. Over the past decade, thousands of deed theft complaints have been filed across the city. Yet eviction proceedings move forward while ownership is still in dispute.

That is why I’m launching an initiative to End Deed Theft, in partnership with The People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft. This crisis calls for state intervention. We are asking Gov. Kathy Hochul to enforce a temporary moratorium on eviction proceedings for properties in New York City where there is a possibility of deed theft and fraud.

This stay on eviction proceedings can be carried out using the same mechanisms used to enforce the COVID-19-era eviction moratorium. It would rely on stronger, more active enforcement of existing state law, including §756-A of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL), §2201 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR), CPLR §5519, and other available legal tools. These mechanisms would ensure homeowners can remain in their homes while their cases are resolved.

This initiative has two parts. First, immediate protection to stop displacement while families seek justice. Second, securing the resources and reforms needed to prevent this cycle from continuing. Homeowners facing deed theft deserve legal representation, and we need a fully funded right to counsel. District attorney’s offices need dedicated units to investigate deed theft with the seriousness it demands. We need stronger transparency into our judicial system and how deed theft cases are handled, as well as in our lending system, where homeowners can fall victim to deceptive loans that put their homes at risk. 

We also need clearer public education and disclosure around the use of shell LLCs, which perpetrators exploit to hide their identities and avoid accountability for these crimes. County clerks should also have the authority to flag and halt suspicious property transfers before fraud is recorded.

I believe housing is a human right. That belief includes the homeowners who built Black Brooklyn, where speculators now circle legacy homes like vultures. If people can be scammed out of their deeds, why would the next generation ever take the risk of owning a home? Ending deed theft shifts housing from a commodity to something families can hold across generations.

Protecting longtime New Yorkers from displacement is not a contradiction of progressive values. It is their extension. I have already shown what this approach can deliver with the FARE Act. That same commitment now guides this work to protect homeowners. The work of keeping people in their homes has never belonged to one ideology. It belongs to anyone willing to stand up and do it.

This moment demands partnership across the political spectrum. The governor holds a unique authority that can change the trajectory of this crisis, and complexity cannot be an excuse for inaction while families are displaced. I invite elected officials across this city and state to join us. 

We cannot allow Black Brooklyn to be erased.