New York City's bid to delay the sale of thousands of rent-stabilized apartments owned by Pinnacle Group hit a roadblock on Thursday as a federal bankruptcy judge rejected Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration's attempt to slow down the process.
The city had intervened in the looming bankruptcy sale, citing its substantial creditor status and a desire to ensure that any new owner makes necessary repairs to bring the buildings up to code while respecting rent stabilization regulations. The move was seen as an effort by Mamdani's administration to steer the properties towards what it sees as a more responsible owner.
However, the judge refused to grant the reprieve, paving the way for a potential auction of the 5,100 apartments. A real estate company, Summit Properties USA, had already lined up a $451 million bid for the apartment buildings.
The Union of Pinnacle Tenants, which represents residents living in the affected properties, fears that Summit would perpetuate the same practices as Pinnacle, including neglecting maintenance and failing to pay electrical bills.
In a statement, City Deputy Mayor for Housing Leila Bozorg said officials are assessing their options while vowing to continue fighting to ensure any owner of the portfolio makes necessary repairs.
The setback is an early challenge for Mamdani's administration in its efforts to address housing policy in New York City. The city's new mayor has campaigned on penalizing property owners who fail to maintain their apartment buildings, as well as freezing rents for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments. However, his administration faces intense scrutiny over issues such as social media posts by one of his key advisers that have resurfaced.
As the sale process moves forward, concerns remain about the fate of thousands of tenants living in the affected properties and how they will be impacted by any changes to ownership.
The city had intervened in the looming bankruptcy sale, citing its substantial creditor status and a desire to ensure that any new owner makes necessary repairs to bring the buildings up to code while respecting rent stabilization regulations. The move was seen as an effort by Mamdani's administration to steer the properties towards what it sees as a more responsible owner.
However, the judge refused to grant the reprieve, paving the way for a potential auction of the 5,100 apartments. A real estate company, Summit Properties USA, had already lined up a $451 million bid for the apartment buildings.
The Union of Pinnacle Tenants, which represents residents living in the affected properties, fears that Summit would perpetuate the same practices as Pinnacle, including neglecting maintenance and failing to pay electrical bills.
In a statement, City Deputy Mayor for Housing Leila Bozorg said officials are assessing their options while vowing to continue fighting to ensure any owner of the portfolio makes necessary repairs.
The setback is an early challenge for Mamdani's administration in its efforts to address housing policy in New York City. The city's new mayor has campaigned on penalizing property owners who fail to maintain their apartment buildings, as well as freezing rents for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments. However, his administration faces intense scrutiny over issues such as social media posts by one of his key advisers that have resurfaced.
As the sale process moves forward, concerns remain about the fate of thousands of tenants living in the affected properties and how they will be impacted by any changes to ownership.
The city's trying to do something good here, but it feels like a step backward. A delay would've given them time to work out some sort of arrangement that benefits tenants too, you know? Instead, they just got told no... 
Now we're basically stuck with the same old problems - outdated buildings and no accountability from these property owners.
It feels like the system is rigged against them. And that Summit Properties USA is getting away with potentially perpetuating all sorts of bad practices... it's just not right. 
this is so weird... mayor Zohran Mamdani's admin is trying super hard to stop this sale but a judge just said nope 
and now we gotta wait and see what happens next... i feel bad for the thousands of tenants who live in these apartments 
they deserve safe & decent living spaces. what if sumit properties usa does decide to neglect maintenance like pinnacle group did? 
i hope city officials can find a way to protect these tenants' interests 
... what about the tenants tho? 
... union of pinnacle tenants says summit will just perpetuate same neglect & bills drama as pinnacle did... how are they gonna make sure new owner does repairs right? 
... this is like, city's housing policy dreams are getting crushed 
Ugh, this is so disheartening... Thousands of ppl are gonna get hurt if Summit Properties USA gets their hands on those apartments 
. They're always dodging maintenance & neglecting repairs. It's just not right 
. The city needs to keep fighting for those tenants' rights, especially the ones who can't afford to move out of a rent-stabilized building 
.
. I feel so bad for all those tenants who are worried sick about what's gonna happen to them next. Can't our new mayor just make it happen? 
It's like they're throwing these people into limbo, and it's not fair at all 
. I'm really hoping the city can find a way to make this work, but for now... ugh