| Releases
& Statements
For Immediate Release: September 9, 2006
Contact: Charlene Piper
(212) 669-4691
Frank Sobrino (212) 669-4193
Gotbaum,
Rangel, and Stringer
Co-Sponsor
Housing Workshops for Harlem Residents
Public Advocate Betsy
Gotbaum, Congressman Charles Rangel, and Manhattan Borough President
Scott Stringer today co-sponsored free community workshops on
housing law and tenants’ rights for Harlem residents. In
response to widespread complaints that the Pinnacle Group, LLC
has been systematically harassing its tenants, Gotbaum secured
Jenner & Block, LLP to provide them with pro bono legal services.
Gotbaum and Stringer were joined by Buyers and Renters United
to Save Harlem (BRUSH) and several housing advocacy organizations
at the event in Riverbank State Park.
“One of my top
priorities as Public Advocate is ensuring safe, affordable housing
and fair treatment for all of our city’s tenants,”
Gotbaum said. “That’s why I asked Jenner & Block
to provide their counsel to Pinnacle tenants. It’s important
for Harlem tenants to understand their rights and learn how to
organize their communities to advocate for fair housing so that
they are no longer vulnerable to the practices of unscrupulous
landlords.”
“These series
of workshops will help tenants better understand their housing
rights and will give valuable information on what to do in cases
of harassment or abuse by their landlords. Education is our best
weapon to combat tenants' rights violations and to protect the
city's affordable housing stock,” Stringer said. “I'm
proud to be partnering with the Public Advocate's Office, Congressman
Rangel, Buyers and Renters United to Save Harlem, Legal Aid Society
and all groups involved to empower Pinnacle tenants and help them
fight for their rights.”
"Jenner & Block,
on a pro bono basis, has joined the investigation into possible
wrongdoing by the Pinnacle Group. We are working to understand
all of the facts and issues involved and determine whether potential
legal courses of action against Pinnacle can properly be brought
on behalf of tenants," said Richard F. Levy, Firm Partner.
"One of our principal tasks at the Saturday event will be
for our teams of lawyers to collect information and documents
from the tenants who are there so we can move forward with a fair
evaluation of the legal status of this situation."
Gotbaum, Stringer, and
Rangel worked with representatives from BRUSH, Jenner & Block,
Legal Services for New York City, the Legal Aid Society, Northern
Manhattan Improvement Corporation, the Association for Neighborhood
and Housing Development, and Tenants and Neighbors to create a
working group specifically targeting residents of apartment buildings
owned by Pinnacle. Pinnacle, which owns several properties in
northern Manhattan and throughout the city, has come under increasing
media and legal scrutiny for failing to properly maintain their
apartments and systematically evicting longtime tenants while
driving up rent for new tenants. Recent reports indicate that
Pinnacle has filed 5,000 eviction proceedings in a two year period
against tenants in nearly 20,000 apartments. Tenants have charged
Pinnacle with performing substandard repairs and otherwise harassing
rent-stabilized residents, forcing them to leave their apartments.
“Pinnacle has
a well-documented history of mistreating its tenants, and I am
committed to putting an end to it,” Gotbaum said. “I
will not allow Pinnacle to get away with intimidating honest,
hard-working families. Our city’s tenants deserve much better.”
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