by Statement by the Reform & Revolution Steering Committee
Today, Chi Ossé was brutally arrested while defending his constituent Carmella Charrington and her family from an eviction in Bed-Stuy. A sitting councilmember and a Socialist in Office put his body on the line alongside his community and was met with police violence. He has now been released.
Let’s be clear: this situation is rooted in deed theft, a process where homes are fraudulently taken. Deed theft is an increasingly common occurrence in Bed-Stuy, targeting Black homeowners in particular. This system employs the courts to dispossess the community in the service of speculators and developers.
When the community showed up to defend that home, the response wasn’t dialogue – it was force. Heavy police presence, intimidation, and 4 arrests. The state always moves fast when it’s time to evict, and it always moves slow when it’s time to protect working people.
What happened today shows something important: Real protection doesn’t come from politicians alone, it comes from organized communities. Neighbors, organizers, and tenants standing together can delay, disrupt, and challenge injustice in real time.
We commend Chi not just for speaking, but for acting. This is what it means to represent working people: not just voting in chambers, but standing in the street when it matters. That’s the kind of leadership socialists must embody.
But we also need to be honest: Even with allies in office, even with a new administration, the state is still structured to defend property over people. Evictions, policing, displacement – these don’t disappear at the ballot box.
That’s why independent, self-organized struggle matters. Tenant defense, eviction blockades, community mobilization. These are not “extreme”, they are how working-class people protect themselves when institutions fail us.
Systemic change means more than stopping one eviction. It means:
- Ending deed theft and predatory speculation
- Expanding public, social housing
- Defunding the machinery of eviction and displacement
- Building independent working-class power
Today in Bed-Stuy showed both sides clearly: A system willing to remove families from their homes and a community willing to fight back. We know which side we’re on. Solidarity with Carmella, Chi, and everyone resisting displacement!
