NYC Councilmember Chi Ossé was arrested alongside several others Wednesday morning while protesting an attempted eviction in Brooklyn amid an ongoing dispute over the property.
Ossé had been protesting the removal of Bed-Stuy resident Carmella Charrington, who’s been locked in a contentious fight over the home’s deed, as city marshals attempted to carry out an eviction at the property.
The councilmember, upon his release from custody roughly two hours after he was arrested, said he had been “manhandled” by the cops and was still experiencing some dizziness after hitting his head when pushed to the sidewalk. He said he plans on filing a misconduct complaint.
“If it can happen to me it can happen to many, many New Yorkers most especially Black New Yorkers and senior new Yorkers who have been advocating for years for deed theft to end,” Ossé said. His characterization of the episode as “deed theft” has been challenged by others involved in the long-running dispute.
Video of the incident shows Ossé and others attempting to block entry to the building as the eviction effort got underway. The police then appear to grab hold off the councilmember, pushing him to the ground and handcuffing him.
“What the f–k are you doing,” a protestor can be heard yelling in the video.
Ossé was held at the 79th Precinct and was given a desk appearance ticket for obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct before being released shortly after noon.
The episode unfolded early Wednesday when city Marshals and the Sheriff’s Office went to the building at Jefferson and Nostrand avenues to execute the eviction and serve a mental health warrant, police sources said. Police officials said the NYPD was called to the scene by the marshals who were being blocked from entering the building.
The police ordered the crowd of about 50 protesters to disperse several times, officials said. Some did, but others, including Ossé, did not, continuing to block access to the home.
Two others were arrested and ticketed alongside Ossé by the NYPD and one other was arrested by the Sheriff’s Office, cops said.
Ossé said later in the day that he went to a hospital to be examined for his injuries.
“He was thrown to the ground and you heard from him that he sustained some injuries,” Council Speaker Julie Menin said outside the precinct. “That is not acceptable. He was peacefully protesting.”
Mayor Mamdani, a close of ally of Ossé’s, called the situation “incredibly concerning” at a press conference Wednesday morning.
“I have seen the concerning footage of Council Member Chi Ossé’s arrest earlier today and am in touch with Commissioner Tisch about the nature of the arrest,” the mayor said later in a statement. “It is a pleasure to work alongside Council Member Ossé, a leader in his community and a partner in building a safer and more affordable New York City. I am grateful he is out of custody.”
The councilmember has been outspoken against deed theft, a form of fraud where ownership of a property is illegally transferred to another party. Immediately after his release, Ossé called for an end to the “scourge of deed theft,” calling on the governor to implement an eviction moratorium to allow those with pending deed theft claims to stay in their homes.
The legal dispute surrounding the brownstone in question, though, is somewhat complicated.
While Charrington and advocates have called the saga around her home deed theft, the state Attorney General’s office concluded in 2025 the matter was not deed theft, but rather a property dispute among the relatives of the building’s former owners.
The property on Jefferson Avenue has been at the center of a years-long legal dispute that started in a Georgia probate court in 2020 over who would become the legal guardian of Charrington’s father, Allman, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.
Carmella Charrington and her sister, Athena, clashed with Allman’s wife, Karen, over who would gain conservatorship, and after an August 2021 proceeding, the probate judge ruled designated Georgia attorney Luanne Bonnie to be his conservator.
Bonnie sold the brownstone to 227 Group LLC for $1.4 million in cash in early 2024 — a sale Carmella Charrington and her father have challenged.
Speaking to the Daily News, Bonnie accused Charrington of having never owned the property and Ossé of knowing little about the actual facts.
“It’s shocking, he’s done zero research on what he’s talking about,” Bonnie said ” It’s astonishing. We can see what’s being posted on TikTok and Instagram, and it’s a total alternate universe.”
The owners of the building echoed Bonnie’s claims.
“The allegation of deed theft is unequivocally false and anyone advancing this narrative is completely misinformed,” a spokesperson for 27 Group LLC said in a statement.
Osse defended his characterization of the issue.
“Some are using a more narrow definition of deed theft. The advocates and I use, and encourage others to use, a more expansive definition of deed theft,” Ossé said, adding that that definition includes situations like forcing longtime owner families out of their homes through fraudulent sales, deceptive deed sale practices, underpaying seniors for homes and taking deeds through conservatorships.
The new owners started eviction proceedings against Carmella and Athena Charrington in Brooklyn landlord-tenant court in July 2024. The sisters have been fighting it since.
According to filings by 227 Group’s lawyer, the court set a trial date for August 2025, but Carmella Charrington was a no-show. Since then, she’s filed several motions to stave off eviction, without success.
A notice of eviction went out April 6.
After showing up to court twice without her father, Charrington was held in contempt of court and arresting, spending five days on Rikers Island.
The city’s Department of Finance, of which the Sheriff’s Office is part of, declined comment.
With Colin Mixson and Rocco Parascandola.
