BK Reader's in depth reporting on deed theft and real estate scams in Brooklyn captured what too many homeowners in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, and central Brooklyn have known for years: these scams are not isolated disputes. They are a direct attack on family stability, generational wealth, and the future of Black homeownership in New York City.
As an attorney who has practiced real estate law since 2017, I have seen how quickly a family’s security can be threatened when predatory investors, confusing paperwork, probate issues, or fraudulent transfers enter the picture.
For many homeowners, especially seniors and families who have held property for decades, one bad document or one dishonest actor can create years of litigation, fear, and financial devastation.
Brooklyn homeowners should not have to become legal experts just to keep their family homes. Protecting them must be a priority at every level of government.
Nearly 200,000 Black New Yorkers have recently left the city, and I have seen countless residents of all backgrounds come calling for legal help, when they met think they cannot rely on Albany leadership.
That is why prevention must be treated with the same urgency as enforcement. Homeowners should be encouraged to check ACRIS regularly, sign up for recorded document alerts, keep copies of every mortgage, utility, tax, and repair document, and never sign paperwork under pressure without first speaking to a trusted attorney or housing counselor. But individual caution is not enough. Our government must do more to protect homeowners before they are dragged into court fighting to keep what already belongs to them.
Brooklyn’s brownstones are not just real estate assets. They are homes built, preserved, and passed down by families who stayed through disinvestment, redlining, rising taxes, and displacement pressure. When deed theft is allowed to continue, we are not just losing buildings. We are losing community history and pushing more longtime residents out of the neighborhoods they helped build.
The creation of stronger deed-theft protections and eviction safeguards is a necessary step, but it cannot be the last one. We need faster intervention when title is challenged, greater accountability for bad actors, more accessible estate-planning resources, and real legal support for homeowners before a crisis becomes irreversible.
Michael Bailey is a Democratic candidate for New York State Assembly District 56, which covers Bedford-Stuyvesant and parts of Crown Heights.
