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Press release: The City’s Largest Tenant Union Negotiate with Summit Gold, Inc., New Owner of 5,000 Rent-Stabilized Homes Purchased at Bankruptcy Auction
April 13, 2026
(New York, NY) - The Union of Pinnacle (and Summit) Tenants built the largest portfolio-wide tenant union in NYC, with members in 80% of the 93 buildings purchased from Pinnacle Group by Summit Gold, Inc. (“Summit”) at bankruptcy auction. As promised after the sale of their homes, the Union resolved to continue their struggle with Summit as their landlord. Just 10 days after Summit assumed ownership of their 5,000 rent stabilized apartments, the Union kicked off a negotiating process seeking a collective bargaining agreement that would be the first of its kind in NYC and the largest for tenants in the nation.
Joined by a representative from the City’s Department of Housing, Preservation and Development, along with lawyers from the Legal Aid Society, the Union presented a series of demands in the service of safe, stable, and affordable housing to representatives from Summit, their consulting firm Strada Ventures, as well as Rick Elezi Management and Nieuw Amsterdam Property Management, who have been hired as Property Managers.
UPT won a day-one commitment from the Mamdani administration directing the City’s top lawyers to intervene in the bankruptcy auction of their homes. Because of their organizing and the swift support of the new administration, tenants managed to force their voices into a process effectively designed to exclude them, winning multiple concessions from Summit, including a sworn commitment under oath to a timeline for repairing tenants’ homes and a pledge of $30 million for that purpose.
At the Union’s February 1st town hall, Mayor Mamdani joined 300 tenants to regroup after the sale. He compared the Union of Pinnacle and Summit Tenants to the NYS Nurses Association and the Deliveristas, unions of workers organizing to win what they deserve. As organized tenants, that’s exactly what tenants did on Friday, beginning a process to win a collective bargaining agreement that represents their needs and demands.
On Friday April 10th, Zohran Mamdani’s 100th day in office, tenants held a first meeting with Summit, Strada, and property managers, where they kicked off negotiations. They won a number of commitments from the landlord, including:
A recommitment from Summit to meet the timeline of repairs that it swore to in court
Transparency on budgets for repairs to common areas and building-wide systems
The use of licensed contractors for repairs, and transparency on vendor hires
No late fees on rents during the transition
Agreement to monthly meetings between the Union and all decision-makers including representatives from Summit, Strada, REM & Nieuw Amsterdam management, and more.
Tenants also made a series of “good faith” proposals. Summit has committed to responding within one week’s time. The Union proposed that Summit:
Agree to recognize the Union as the bargaining representative for the auction portfolio and agree to negotiate with the Union in good faith.
Allow legacy tenants to add themselves to their families’ leases, so families know they have the stability of the long-term home to which they are entitled under state succession law.
Commit to not pursuing any back rent accrued during Pinnacle’s negligent ownership.
The 13 elected representatives of the Union’s bargaining team left the meeting confident that Summit will accurately assess its position, recognize the power of their tenant union, the support they have from the Mamdani administration, HPD, DOB, the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, as well the public, and agree to these first proposals and participate in a bargaining process in good faith.
Summit has maintained a reputation as one of NYC’s worst landlords, according to the City’s Public Advocate, and is inheriting appalling conditions in the 93 buildings it acquired, containing more than 6,300 code violations at the time of sale — gaping holes in the walls, leaks, mold, infestations of roaches, mice, and rats, chipping lead paint, and more. Summit and their consulting firm Strada have said they plan to be long-term stewards of tenants’ homes. They have one week to agree to negotiate with organized tenants and demonstrate that these promises are more than just words.
Once again, The Union of Pinnacle Tenants is making history in NYC, and their drive to pursue collective bargaining between tenants and landlords with the support of the administration demonstrates a new era of tenant power in NYC.
Cea Weaver, Director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants said: "In the Mamdani administration, the Mayor of New York City is on tenants' side. We have been proud to stand with Pinnacle tenants since our first day in office, and together, we won important commitments to housing quality and tenant protections in court. We will continue working hand-in-hand with tenants to ensure that those commitments are met, and to ensure the livability of homes across the city."
LT Tierney, Staff Attorney in the Housing Justice Unit-Group Advocacy at The Legal Aid Society, said, "It is an honor and a privilege to support The Union of Pinnacle Tenants in their historic efforts to win safe, affordable, quality housing for New Yorkers. Union members demonstrated visionary leadership and spoke powerfully on behalf of their neighbors, making clear that they will not tolerate business as usual. We are optimistic that Summit Gold, Inc., under the guidance of housing policy experts Strada Ventures, will rise to the moment and restore dignity to this long-neglected portfolio."
Elected members of the union’s bargaining team are available for interviews through our press liaison.
Email: pinnacletenantsnyc@gmail.com