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NYC Marshal Services in Bedford-Stuyvesant, NY
Bed-Stuy Brownstone Landlords: Your Warrant Is Only Worth What You Do With It
Hear from Our Customers
Eviction Marshal Services in Bedford-Stuyvesant
Most landlords and creditors in Bedford-Stuyvesant don’t have a legal problem — they have an enforcement problem. The court already ruled in your favor. The warrant is already issued. But until a licensed NYC Marshal steps in, nothing moves. That gap between winning and collecting is where money disappears, and it’s exactly what we exist to close.
If you own a two- or three-family brownstone in Bedford-Stuyvesant — the kind built before 1900 that makes up the backbone of this neighborhood — you probably already know that the rental income from those lower units isn’t extra money. It’s what makes the mortgage work. When a tenant stops paying and the process drags on for months, you’re the one covering the difference. Getting to the enforcement stage as quickly as possible isn’t a preference, it’s financial survival.
The same applies if you won a small claims judgment against a contractor or customer through Civil Court. That judgment gives you the legal right to collect — but only a licensed NYC Marshal can serve an income execution on an employer, levy a bank account, or pursue other enforcement avenues to actually get you paid. Having that judgment sit in a drawer doesn’t earn you anything. Acting on it does.
NYC Marshal Serving Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Since 1988
We are NYC Marshal Edward Guida #14, a Mayoral-appointed public official — one of only 28 currently active NYC Marshals out of a possible 83 appointments. That’s not a marketing number. It reflects how selective the process is: background investigation by the NYC Department of Investigation, a $100,000 public officer’s bond, and a formal appointment process that most applicants don’t complete. When you hire us, you’re working with a government-sanctioned enforcement officer, not a collection agency.
Our family has been serving Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brooklyn landlords and creditors since 1988. Edward Jr. was brought into the business in 2007, managed the office through the transition after his father’s passing in 2014, and was formally appointed Marshal in 2016. Our office manager and staff worked under Edward Sr. for years before that — so the institutional knowledge here runs deep. Whether your case comes out of Brooklyn Housing Court at 141 Livingston Street or from a Civil Court judgment, we’ve handled cases like it before.
Our approach is straightforward: professional conduct, clear communication, and enforcement that gets done without unnecessary drama.
How NYC Marshal Enforcement Works in Brooklyn
Once you have your judgment or warrant in hand, the process starts with contacting us and providing your documentation. For a warrant of eviction, that means the warrant itself along with the relevant case information. For a money judgment — whether from Brooklyn Housing Court, NYC Civil Court, or Small Claims — you’ll need the judgment paperwork and any information you have about the debtor’s employer or bank accounts.
From there, we handle the procedural work: docketing the case, serving the appropriate notices, and scheduling execution. For an income execution, we contact the debtor first, and if they don’t respond within 20 days, the employer gets served directly. For a property execution — which can include a bank levy of up to double the judgment balance — we move on the debtor’s financial accounts or personal property. The specific approach depends on what’s known about the debtor’s situation, and we advise on which avenue makes the most sense for your case.
One thing worth knowing if you’re in Bedford-Stuyvesant: the 2024 Good Cause Eviction Law added procedural steps before you can obtain a warrant for certain unregulated units. By the time you’ve cleared those hurdles and have your warrant issued, you’ve already done the hard part. Our job is to execute quickly once you’re legally ready — and we cover all five boroughs, including every ZIP code in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
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Income Execution and Eviction Services in Bed-Stuy
We handle the full range of civil enforcement services across Brooklyn and all five boroughs. For landlords in Bedford-Stuyvesant — whether you’re dealing with a non-paying tenant in a rent-stabilized unit on Nostrand Avenue or a market-rate tenant in a Stuyvesant Heights brownstone — we are authorized to execute warrants of eviction and legal possessions once issued by the NYC court system. Both options are available, and the right choice depends on your specific situation.
For creditors holding money judgments, we handle income executions (wage garnishment, capped at 10% of the debtor’s gross wages per paycheck under New York law), property executions including bank levies, and small claims enforcement for judgments out of NYC Small Claims Court. The upfront statutory fees to initiate enforcement are modest — approximately $55 to $125 depending on the type of execution — and we earn poundage of 5% only on amounts actually collected. That means the incentive is aligned: we earn meaningfully when you get paid.
Bedford-Stuyvesant’s dense concentration of rent-stabilized buildings and the overlay of the 2024 Good Cause Eviction Law mean that landlord-tenant cases here often carry more procedural complexity than in other Brooklyn neighborhoods. We understand that landscape. If you run a business on Fulton Street or anywhere along the Nostrand Avenue corridor and you’ve won a judgment against someone who won’t pay, the same enforcement tools apply — and we handle it.
Do I really need a licensed NYC Marshal to evict a tenant in Bedford-Stuyvesant?
Yes — and this isn’t a technicality you can work around. Under New York law, only a licensed NYC Marshal or the Sheriff’s Office can execute a warrant of eviction. If you try to remove a tenant yourself — changing the locks, removing belongings, cutting off utilities — you’re looking at potential criminal charges for unlawful eviction, regardless of how far behind on rent the tenant is or how clear-cut your case seems.
Once Brooklyn Housing Court issues your warrant of eviction, the next step is engaging a licensed marshal to schedule and execute it. We post the 72-hour notice, coordinate the lockout, and handle the process in a way that keeps you legally protected throughout. In Bedford-Stuyvesant specifically, where many landlords are owner-occupants of two- and three-family brownstones and still live in the building, having the eviction handled professionally and without confrontation isn’t just a legal requirement — it’s a practical one. You still live there after it’s done.
What's the difference between a NYC Marshal and the Sheriff for evictions in Brooklyn?
Both a NYC Marshal and the Sheriff’s Office are legally authorized to execute warrants of eviction, and both charge the same statutory fees. But in practice, NYC Marshals handle the overwhelming majority of residential evictions in Brooklyn and across the city. To put a number on it: the Sheriff’s Office executed only 36 residential evictions citywide from January through May of 2024. Marshals executed thousands during that same period.
The reason comes down to experience and focus. NYC Marshals operate as independent public officials — not city employees — which means our entire operation is built around civil enforcement. We’re not splitting attention across other functions. For a Bedford-Stuyvesant landlord who has already spent months navigating Brooklyn Housing Court and the procedural requirements of New York’s landlord-tenant laws, working with a marshal who does this every day and knows the process inside and out is a meaningful advantage over waiting in line with the Sheriff.
How does the 2024 Good Cause Eviction Law affect my eviction case in Bed-Stuy?
The Good Cause Eviction Law, which took effect April 20, 2024, expanded tenant protections for unregulated apartments in buildings constructed before 2009 — which covers a significant share of Bedford-Stuyvesant’s housing stock. Under the law, landlords must now provide written notice of Good Cause applicability with every lease and renewal, and they cannot simply non-renew a lease without demonstrating a qualifying reason. Notice requirements became effective August 18, 2024.
What this means practically: getting to the warrant stage may take longer than it did before the law passed, because there are more procedural steps to clear before a court will issue a warrant of eviction. However, the law does not eliminate evictions for non-payment of rent — it just requires that the process be followed correctly. Once you have your warrant in hand, we execute it the same way as before. We’re familiar with the regulatory environment that Bedford-Stuyvesant landlords are navigating right now and can help you understand where you are in the process.
I won a small claims judgment in Brooklyn — how do I actually collect the money?
Winning a small claims judgment is the first step, not the finish line. After the court enters the judgment in your favor, you have the legal right to collect — but the other party isn’t legally required to pay you just because the judge ruled in your favor. If they don’t pay voluntarily within 30 days, you can engage us to begin enforcement.
The two primary tools are an income execution and a property execution. An income execution (wage garnishment) directs the debtor’s employer to withhold up to 10% of their gross wages each pay period and send it to us, and we pass it along to you. A property execution allows us to levy a bank account — up to double the judgment balance — or seize personal property to satisfy the debt. For small business owners on Fulton Street or Nostrand Avenue who won a judgment against a customer or contractor, these are real, enforceable collection tools. The upfront cost to initiate enforcement is approximately $55 to $125 in statutory fees, and we earn 5% poundage only on amounts actually recovered.
What if the person I have a judgment against has no job or bank account that I know of?
This is one of the most common concerns creditors have, and it’s worth addressing directly. Not knowing where the debtor works or banks doesn’t mean enforcement is impossible — it means the approach needs to be more investigative upfront. We use up-to-date technology to gather and verify information about debtors, including employment and financial account details, as part of the enforcement process.
Beyond income execution and bank levies, there are additional enforcement avenues available for money judgments — including seizure of personal property. The right strategy depends on what can be verified about the debtor’s actual situation. One thing that’s worth knowing: in a neighborhood like Bedford-Stuyvesant, where the poverty rate sits at 25.8% and a significant share of residents are financially stressed, some debtors genuinely have limited collectible assets. We’re honest with you about that rather than running up fees on a case that won’t produce results. We’ll advise you on the realistic enforcement options for your specific debtor before you commit.
How long does the eviction process take once I have a warrant in Bedford-Stuyvesant?
Once you have a warrant of eviction and engage us, the process moves in a defined sequence. We post a 72-hour notice at the property, and after that period, the lockout can be scheduled. In practice, the timeline from engaging us to completed eviction is typically a matter of days to a few weeks, depending on scheduling and any court-ordered stays.
There are a few factors specific to Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brooklyn more broadly that can affect timing. First, the NYC DOI issues weather-related eviction suspension orders during extreme cold — typically in January and February — which can pause execution during winter cold snaps. If your warrant is ready to execute in winter, it’s worth being aware of that possibility. Second, Brooklyn Housing Court has been working through a significant post-pandemic backlog; if your case has been in the system since 2022 or 2023, it may have taken longer than normal to reach the warrant stage, but once you’re there, our side of the process is not subject to those same delays. Engaging us before your warrant is formally issued allows you to get on the schedule as early as possible.