Deed Theft Takes Center Stage in NYC

Deed theft is having its moment in the New York City spotlight.

On Thursday, Council member Chi Ossé was arrested during a protest against the eviction of a woman from her brownstone in Bedford-Stuyvesant, which followed allegations of deed theft related to the property.

The next day, after footage of Ossé’s arrest made headlines, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the launch of the Office of Deed Theft Prevention, an agency dedicated to investigating deed theft and educating New Yorkers on the issue, The City reported.

The new office, helmed by attorney Peter White, delivers on one of Mamdani’s campaign promises, though the budget attached to it — $500,000 in 2026 and $1 million in the years after — falls short of the $10 million he initially pledged to throw behind it.

Deed theft, typically when someone forges documents or defrauds another into signing documents to turn over their home, has been a popular topic among New York electeds in recent years, as high-profile criminal cases have come into focus. Last year, Brooklyn real estate investor Sanford Solny was convicted on 17 charges related to deed theft and sentenced to up to seven years in prison.

Also in 2025, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has been cracking down on the issue, indicted two people for allegedly falsifying property records to steal the home of a dying widow in Kew Gardens.

James has also partnered with state lawmakers to pass legislation that established deed theft as a crime, broadened the criminal statute of limitations and expanded options for victims to combat incidents in civil court.

But according to James, what happened to Carmella Charrington, the Brooklyn woman facing eviction this week that led to Ossé’s arrest, may not have been deed theft at all. The brownstone where Charrington lives was caught up in her father’s conservatorship case, and the conservator, with the court’s approval, sold the property in 2024. James instead classified the case as a property dispute.

As my colleague Erik Engquist noted in Thursday’s Daily Dirt, labeling other issues as deed theft when they’re not risks muddying the waters for cases that truly fit the bill. Figuring out how to navigate that — especially while getting such widespread attention — will be the real challenge for both Mamdani and this new agency.

What we’re thinking about: Earlier this week, a former Coldwell Banker franchise in New York told The Real Deal about its decision to split from Compass after the Anywhere acquisition and instead operate as an independent shop. Will other agents and affiliates go the same route, and what are the other impacts of the merger on New York’s residential industry? Send thoughts to sheridan.wall@therealdeal.com.

A thing we’ve learned: Bird watchers have spotted a recently hatched peregrine falcon in a nest on the 14th story of 55 Water Street, the New York Times reported. The baby falcon — called an “eyas” — appears to have made its debut earlier this month, when it was spotted on the Falcon Cam, a live video feed aimed at the nest.

Elsewhere…

— At a hearing Tuesday, the Hempstead Town Board is slated to discuss a proposal to reduce the building area on a residential lot in Levittown from 30 percent to 27.5 percent, according to Newsday. Industry players, some of whom have pushed back against the plan, say it could change the area’s new development market. “You’re allowed to build a bigger house in Levittown than you can anywhere else,” Long Island architect Brian Lynch told the outlet. “That’s why everyone’s buying these houses in Levittown and knocking them down and building these mansions.”

— U.S. Park Police have removed about 150 feet of fence around Battery Park, which drew complaints from tourists and residents that it obstructed views of the Statue of Liberty, NBC New York reported. Some New York City lawmakers began advocating for the fence’s removal after it was erected in March.

Closing time

Residential: The most expensive residential sale recorded Friday was $19.4 million for 20 East 76th St, PH2. The new construction condo unit in Lenox Hill is 2,900 square feet. Douglas Elliman’s Michelle Griffith and Lauren Muss have the listing.

Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction was $316 million for 575 Fifth Avenue. Beacon Capital Partners sold the 40-story, 540,000-square-foot office and retail condo space to Sovereign Partners.

New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $15 million for 730 Park Avenue, Unit 15/16A. The Lenox Hill co-op has four bedrooms and five bathrooms. Brown Harris Stevens has the listing.

— Joseph Jungermann