Mamdani plans pied-a-terre tax
Mayor Zoran Mamdani announced plans to tax luxury second homes owned by absentee residents in New York City.
Days after City Councilmember Chi Ose was arrested during an eviction protest in Bed-Stuy, the mayor announced plans to combat deed theft.
The councilman said the evictions were the result of deed theft, but state officials dispute that claim.
After the arrest garnered national attention, here’s how Mayor Zoran Mamdani plans to tackle deed theft across the city.
What is deed theft?
According to the New York State Attorney General’s Office, deed theft occurs when someone takes ownership of a home without the homeowner’s knowledge and approval.
Two ways deed theft can occur include forgery, which means forging a homeowner’s signature, and fraud, when a homeowner signs a signature without understanding its true meaning.
Statewide AG’s office data shows deed complaints have jumped in recent years, from 149 in 2023 to 517 in 2025, but it’s unclear how many of them turned out to be valid.
The issue is a big one for Osse, who represents Bedford-Stuyvesant and North Crown Heights.
In February, the congressman, along with other officials and the National Coalition to Stop Certificate Theft, announced new efforts to curb fraud.
The office said in a release that Black homeowners in Brooklyn are the most affected by fraud, and they called on Gov. Cathy Hochul to issue a moratorium on evictions for New York City homes where deed theft may be occurring.
City council member Ji Ose arrested
Osse was detained after his office announced it would “protect Carmela Charrington, a voter who has spent 60 years in her home, from eviction.”
“Bed-Stuy is currently experiencing black evictions, and Carmela is one of many black homeowners in Brooklyn fighting deed theft.”
Video of the altercation shows Mr. Océ falling to the ground with NYPD officers on top of him. He was then handcuffed and taken into custody at the NYPD’s 79th Precinct in Bed-Stuy, where he was ultimately charged.
Although the city councilor claimed Charrington had stolen the case, the state attorney general’s office said a preliminary investigation had already ruled out that possibility.
The office said it investigated Charrington’s case last year and determined it was a property dispute, not a case of deed theft.
The firm said the matter arose from competing claims by the heirs and relatives of the property’s former co-owners, and the firm did not have jurisdiction to intervene in the legal dispute.
According to the ministry, four people were arrested along with Océ, and all were charged with obstruction of administration and disorderly conduct.
Ose also said he plans to file a misconduct report against the officers who threw him to the ground.
New office to fight certificate theft
On Friday, Mayor Zoran Mamdani announced plans to establish a Mayor’s Office to Prevent Deed Theft.
Mamdani’s mission, led by Brooklyn Access Judge Peter White, will be to “strategically crackdown on deed theft, flag suspicious property notifications, partner with law enforcement, conduct public education and awareness, promote preventive safeguards, and improve data sharing between government agencies,” according to a news release.
“The establishment of the Deed Theft Prevention Bureau marks a turning point in the history of this city,” City Council member Chi Ose said in the announcement..
“I am proud to partner with Mayor Mamdani to create this office, and I will continue to use all my powers to fight this crisis. For decades, deed theft has been unchecked, an epidemic that steals Black people’s homes, destabilizes families, and robs them of generational wealth.”
