Progressive NYC Council Members call for action on deed theft

Spurred to action after the arrest of one of their own outside a Bed-Stuy brownstone last week, members of the New York City Council’s Progressive Caucus are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to work with the Legislature to prevent deed theft by expanding the issue’s definition and to ensure that adequate legal resources are provided to New Yorkers fighting to stay in their homes. 

The caucus sent a letter signed by all 23 members less than a week after Council Member Chi Ossé and several other protesters were arrested in Brooklyn while protesting the planned eviction of a longtime resident from her home on Jefferson Avenue. Ossé, a 28-year-old democratic socialist, was released from custody later that afternoon. For months, he’s urged the governor to enact a moratorium on all evictions in the city that involve suspected deed theft, a practice in which a scammer takes ownership of a home through fraud or forgery without the consent of the true owner. This is something that has hit predominantly Black neighborhoods particularly hard as bad actors seek to take advantage of homeowners as they grapple with an onslaught of rising prices and gentrification. 

While Attorney General Letitia James told news outlet the Judge Street Journal that the dispute that led to Ossé’s arrest wasn’t technically a case of deed theft but rather "emanated" from deed theft,  the number of people who’ve alleged that they’ve been a victim of this type of scam has increased dramatically in recent years. The incident also renewed the spotlight on the problem, amplifying calls for the state to act against deed theft. The Progressive Caucus’s letter, which was shared exclusively with City & State before it was sent to the governor Monday, is one such example. 

Several days after Ossé’s arrest, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the creation of a new Office of Deed Theft Prevention though he declined to endorse an eviction moratorium like advocates and Ossé have been calling for. An earlier iteration of the letter shared with City & State also called on Hochul to implement a temporary moratorium on eviction proceedings for properties in the city where there is a possibility of deed theft and fraud, but this was softened somewhat in the final version the governor received.

“Unfortunately, traumatic and chaotic scenes like the one we witnessed last week have become a feature of housing policy in our state, cutting through the heart of Black and brown neighborhoods,” the letter reads. “Deed theft is a pernicious act that has robbed thousands of longtime New Yorkers of their homes for years. Allowing these devastating evictions to continue is ultimately a political choice, one that the state holds the power to stop from occurring.”

Jen Goodman, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul, didn’t commit to supporting a moratorium, but defended the governor’s record on the issue. 

“Governor Hochul has taken action to help ensure New Yorkers are able to stay in their homes - with enhanced deed theft protections, stronger tools for prosecutors and a $40 million proposed investment in legal assistance for at-risk homeowners,” she said. “No New Yorker should be cheated out of their home and Governor Hochul will continue working with state and city partners on this effort.”

The state currently has several laws that Hochul helped pass in 2023 intended to address deed theft. While council members acknowledged these existing steps in the letter, they urged Hochul to work with the legislature to expand the scope of what counts as deed theft – a move they argued will ensure homeowners are not evicted as legal cases are worked through – and for her to dedicate “the legal resources necessary to keep our neighbors in our homes.” 

“Further reforms are desperately needed to allow both the state time to fix this broken system and homeowners time to gather the legal resources needed to resolve their cases,” the letter reads.