Happy Thursday in NYC, where videos of City Councilman Chi Ossé being dragged to the ground and handcuffed face-down by NYPD officers are going viral.
The confrontation took place yesterday outside a Bed-Stuy brownstone, where a group of about 30 protesters gathered to obstruct city marshals from evicting long-time resident Carmella Charrington.
Charrington, a grandmother who says her family has owned the property for 60 years, claims she was the victim of deed theft — a broad designation of crimes that includes using forged documents, manipulation, foreclosure scams and other schemes to separate residents from their homes. Deed theft has historically targeted Black and Latino homeowners in gentrifying neighborhoods.
Conflicts between Charrington’s family, who are Black, and various LLCs attempting to take over the property have been ongoing since 2021. Documentation shows the residence was purchased for $1.4 million dollars in 2024, but Charrington maintains that the person who signed over the property did not have a legal right to do so.
The state attorney general’s office said it has been working with Charrington to resolve the case for a year and suggested that the conflict is not a case of deed theft but rather a dispute of ownership claims among the Charrington family members.
Ossé was released from custody and admitted to the hospital for his injuries. “I was just there to stand for my neighbor who I didn’t want to see her and her family removed from her home,” Ossé said to reporters after his release. “To be met with violence from the NYPD for doing my job has been really disheartening and truly traumatic.” Ossé said he plans to file a misconduct report against the arresting officers.
Prominent democratic lawmakers immediately swooped in to support Ossé, including City Council Speaker Julie Mennon, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul.
But the NYPD remains in defiant support of their officers, releasing a lengthy statement that claimed they acted “within guidelines for making an arrest for someone committing obstruction of governmental administration,” and accused Ossé of resisting arrest. The officers also claim they gave the crowd numerous warnings to disperse before taking out the handcuffs.
“Not another Black homeowner should have their home stolen. Until deed theft ends, we will fight every day,” Ossé’s office declared in a statement.
Shuttered since 2022, a much-needed 3-K finally opens in Boerum Hill as one of seven previously vacant sites that will open in the fall.
Gov. Hochul issued an executive order banning state employees from insider trading on prediction markets, effective immediately.
Following the uncertainty of this year’s Mermaid Parade and whether it would take place, Coney Island USA announced that the beloved parade is officially slated for June 20.
Brooklyn Public Library released “250 for 250” today for National Library Week, a handpicked, librarian-curated list of the 250 most notable books from 250 years of American history.
The $14.7 million transformation of McCarren Park’s asphalt lot into a new green space is moving forward in the design process, and the public is invited to give their input on what amenities — such as pickleball courts — should be included.
Chris DeMarco collected four NBA championship rings as a player-development guru and assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. Now, he’s hoping to lead the Liberty to victory.
Our World In Photos
Photo: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP
LONDON — Brooklyn is in the house — Anne Hathaway was born there and Emily Blunt lives there today: Anne Hathaway, from left, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep pose for photographers upon arrival at the 'A Night With Runway: The Devil Wears Prada 2' photo call, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in London.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
Advertisement
Go from AI overwhelmed to AI savvy professional
AI will eliminate 300 million jobs in the next 5 years.
Yours doesn't have to be one of them.
Here's how to future-proof your career:
Join the Superhuman AI newsletter - read by 1M+ professionals
Learn AI skills in 3 mins a day
Become the AI expert on your team
Who owns your face?
Images generated using ChatGPT.
A ridiculous question, right? You do, of course. It’s yours. It’s attached to you. It’s how people recognize you, how you unlock your phone, how the world knows you’re you.
Except that’s not how the law sees it because the moment someone snaps a picture of your face, something subtle but important happens.
In a sense, they now own it. Not own-own, but something close enough to matter. Think of it less like ownership and more like a lease. They hold the copyright to that frozen moment your face decided to look its dorkiest. And from that point on, you have remarkably little say in where it goes, how it’s used or what it becomes.
The PREMIUM tag indicates articles that come with extra photographs or special coverage. Thinking of a subscription? Try us out with a day pass for just 99 cents. No long-term commitment for a subscription.
The Mini
Our solver finished in 59 seconds. Can you beat it?
Cartoon Sketchbook
By Rick McKee
For the Road
Try laughing: Katharine Wilkinson believes the best way to fight climate change is to laugh, tell jokes, hug and dance. People like Wilkinson want to harness happiness to empower those fighting to curb greenhouse gases. In a recent speech at American University, Wilkinson called power and joy “a really potent portal to the gifts that we want to offer in this time of immense trouble and yet also immense possibility.” Learn more.
Happy Birthday to “Slumdog Millionaire” star Dev Patel!
On This Day in 1923, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Invading the camp of the enemy at Olympic Park, Clifton, N.J., yesterday, the Brooklyn Wanderers played their return game with the Paterson Football Club in the series of the American Socker League.”
Got a tip? Send it in to [email protected].