Hon. Kathy Hochul
 Governor of the State of New York
 New York State Capitol
 Albany, New York 12224

Hon. Zohran Kwame Mamdani
 Mayor of the City of New York
 City Hall
 New York, New York 10007

Re: Urgent Executive Action Needed to Stop Deed Theft Displacement and Protect Homeowners Across New York

Dear Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani:

I write with urgency on behalf of the homeowners, heirs, seniors, and families across New York who are facing the devastating threat of deed theft, fraudulent property transfers, contested title cases, and wrongful displacement.

As the Assemblymember representing Brooklyn’s 56th Assembly District, serving Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights, I have seen how deed theft operates as more than a property crime. It is a displacement strategy. It is the theft of generational wealth. It is an attack on family stability, neighborhood continuity, and Black and Brown homeownership.

Families who have lived in their homes for decades are being forced to fight complicated legal battles while also facing eviction, lockout, or removal. In some cases, homeowners and heirs are being pushed out before the courts have even determined whether the deed used against them is valid.

That cannot continue.

No owner of record, heir, lawful occupant, or family member claiming ownership should be evicted, removed, locked out, or dispossessed from a residential home while title to that home is actively being challenged in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Acknowledge the Mayor’s First Step

Mayor Mamdani, I want to acknowledge the important step your administration has taken by creating the Mayor’s Office of Deed Theft Prevention and appointing Peter White as director. The office, created by Executive Order 16 and housed within the Department of Finance, is designed to coordinate agencies, flag suspicious property filings, support homeowners, improve data-sharing, conduct outreach, and strengthen enforcement coordination.

This is a necessary and welcome step. Now the City must go further.

The Mayor’s Office of Deed Theft Prevention must be codified, funded, strengthened, and made permanent by local law so that its authority, reporting obligations, homeowner protection duties, and coordination responsibilities do not depend on any single administration or executive order.

What I Am Advancing in the Legislature

I am advancing the Deed Theft Eviction Protection Act, which would create a permanent statewide protection:

No owner of record should be evicted, removed, or dispossessed from their home while the title to that home is actively being challenged in a court of competent jurisdiction.

This legislation is necessary because deed theft cases often move through multiple courts at the same time. A family may be defending against eviction while also trying to cancel a fraudulent deed, quiet title, resolve an estate matter, prove heirship, or challenge a predatory transfer in Supreme Court or Surrogate’s Court.

Eviction should not move faster than justice.

This bill is part of a broader anti-deed theft and homeowner protection agenda to strengthen prevention, intervention, enforcement, legal defense, title protection, and restitution.

What We Are Asking the Governor to DoGovernor Hochul, I respectfully request that you use the authority of the State Executive to stop immediate harm while the Legislature advances permanent protections.

Specifically, I ask that you:

1. Issue executive action or emergency guidance to prevent evictions, removals, or dispossessions where deed theft, fraudulent transfer, or contested title is actively alleged and pending before a court.
2. Direct state agencies to coordinate a statewide deed theft response, including the Department of State, Homes and Community Renewal, Division of Consumer Protection, and other relevant agencies.
3. Support and fund regional title defense hubs that provide legal help in Supreme Court, Surrogate’s Court, Housing Court, foreclosure matters, and related property proceedings.
4. Create or support a statewide property alert and recording protection system so homeowners and heirs are notified when deeds, mortgages, liens, powers of attorney, or other instruments are recorded against their property.
5. Convene a statewide deed theft emergency task force including legislators, court administrators, county clerks, district attorneys, the Attorney General, sheriffs, legal services providers, housing advocates, and impacted homeowners.
6. Include anti-deed theft funding in the Executive Budget as a matter of housing stability, public safety, consumer protection, racial equity, and economic justice.
   A Governor’s moratorium or emergency order can provide immediate relief. But executive action alone is not enough. It must be paired with legislation and judicial protocols.

What We Are Asking the Mayor to Do

Mayor Mamdani, I respectfully request that New York City build upon the office you have created by turning it into a permanent, accountable, fully empowered protection system.

Specifically, I ask that you:

1. Work with the City Council to codify the Mayor’s Office of Deed Theft Prevention by local law, with dedicated funding, clear authority, public reporting, homeowner intake, rapid response, and interagency coordination.
2. Establish a Citywide Contested Deed Eviction Hold to prevent marshals, sheriffs, city agencies, and city-funded contractors from assisting in or carrying out evictions, lockouts, removals, or legal possession actions involving residential property where title is actively contested.
3. Require deed theft screening before marshal or sheriff action involving one-family, two-family, three-family, four-family homes, condominiums, cooperative units, and owner-occupied residential property.
4. Create a Deed Theft Red Flag Notice system that allows homeowners, heirs, legal services providers, elected officials, and prosecutors to flag suspected deed theft before removal occurs.
5. Expand right-to-counsel protections for homeowners and heirs facing eviction, ejectment, foreclosure-related fraud, partition abuse, probate-related displacement, or title litigation involving deed theft.
6. Launch a citywide homeowner protection campaign to help residents check ACRIS, register for property alerts, understand warning signs, report suspicious solicitations, and seek legal help

We are not asking the City to create something from scratch. We are asking the City to make permanent, strengthen, fund, and operationalize the Office of Deed Theft Prevention so that it has the tools needed to stop displacement before it happens.

What the State and City Must Do Together

The State and City must build an operational system that prevents deed theft from becoming displacement.

That requires:

• A shared emergency response protocol;
• Real-time coordination between courts, agencies, marshals, sheriffs, county clerks, prosecutors, and legal services providers;
• Clear data collection and public reporting;
• Targeted outreach in vulnerable communities;
• A permanent funding stream for legal defense, title research, estate resolution, and homeowner stabilization.

Request for Meeting Within 20 Days
I respectfully request an urgent meeting within 20 days with your offices, the Office of Court Administration, members of the State Legislature and City Council, prosecutors, county clerks, sheriffs, marshals, legal services providers, housing advocates, and impacted homeowners.

This timeline is necessary so that both the City Council and State Legislature can act before the legislative session closes. The New York State Legislature has released its 2026 legislative calendar, and time is limited to advance end-of-session reforms.

This is a moment for operational unity.

The Governor can stop the immediate harm. The Mayor can prevent City systems from enabling wrongful displacement. The Judiciary can ensure courts do not accelerate displacement where title is in dispute. The State Legislature and City Council can make protections permanent.

Deed theft is not just the theft of a deed. It is the theft of legacy, stability, and community.

We need immediate coordinated action to protect homeowners, preserve generational wealth, and ensure that families across New York are not removed from homes that may have been stolen.

Respectfully,

Assemblymember Stefani L. Zinerman
 New York State Assembly
 56th Assembly District
 Deputy Majority Whip
 Chair, Subcommittee on Emerging Workforce