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Union of Pinnacle Tenants

Fighting for safe and dignified homes for every Pinnacle & Summit Tenant

Press Contact: pinnacletenantsnyc@gmail.com

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

June 8, 2026

(New York, NY) - Today, the largest portfolio-wide tenant union in NYC, the Union of Pinnacle

Tenants (UPT) celebrates its first victory at the bargaining table while raising concerns that

Summit Gold Inc. has not met the deadline for repairs it committed to in court. Summit swore to fix approximately 50% of all violations in the 93 buildings that it purchased at bankruptcy auction by June 1, with a focus on class C violations. Class C violations are the most serious categorym of city code enforcement. As of today, Summit is behind schedule on this sworn timeline of repairs. Meanwhile, the Union celebrates its first bargaining victory, announcing that in under two months of negotiations, Summit has agreed to forego collections of rent arrears accrued during Pinnacle’s ownership.

For the last six weeks, UPT has been engaged in ongoing negotiations with Summit towards a

collective bargaining agreement. On January 1st, UPT won a day-one commitment from Mayor

Zohran Mamdani’s administration to intervene in the highly publicized bankruptcy auction of

their 5,100 rent-stabilized apartments, eventually winning multiple concessions from Summit in court, including a timeline for repairs and a pledge to spend $30 million over five years – with $10 million in the first year – to address capital expenses and violations.

In April, code violations totaled 12,516 after union leaders worked with HPD to coordinate

inspections in 22 of the 93 buildings, resulting in over 6,000 new violations logged to more

accurately reflect the state of disrepair in tenants’ homes. Many repairs were made as a result of these inspections, reflecting the strength of organized tenants associations. Yet, the current violation count stands at 9,038 meaning that Summit fell short of its commitment to cure 50% of all violations by June 1, by 2780 violations – or 56%. At the same time, UPT has secured a major victory through the bargaining process. In their first meeting with Summit on April 10th, the Union proposed that Summit agree to four key proposals

as demonstrations of "good faith.

”Summit has now agreed to one of these core “good faith” proposals, agreeing to forego collections for rent arrears accrued by tenants during Pinnacle’s ownership. UPT awaits Summit’s presentation of the terms of this agreement and remains prepared to continue negotiations to ensure justice for the tenants who suffered for years under Pinnacle’s mismanagement and neglect.

Sonja Fernandez, Washington Heights tenant and member of the UPT Uptown Local

Chapter, said: “When I got the UPT email updating members on the negotiation meetings that

they were having with Summit, when I saw that Summit was going to forgive past arrears, myeyes lit up. I thought ‘Wow. Is this really happening? I finally feel validated. Now I can sleep a little better at night while I wait for my repairs.”

Brenda R., a member of the Union’s Flatbush Local Chapter, said it’s only fair that Summit

forgives the unpaid rent that would have gone to Pinnacle. “I withheld rent from Pinnacle

because they weren’t making repairs. You don’t want to fix my apartment. I’m always cold. I had to do the floors and walls. The expense for that came out of my pocket.

”Despite two inspections by the Housing Preservation & Development Department this spring, no repairs have been made to her apartment. Issues in her home that need attention include a Class C violation — a broken window that doesn’t close and leads to her apartment’s fire escape. “And you should see my bathroom,” she said. “The tub has rust.”

When UPT began its collective bargaining process on April 10th, the Union secured

commitments from Summit and their property management companies to issue clear

communication, make quality repairs, and respect the rights of tenants to organize. As tenants still report confusing and inconsistent communications from management, subpar repairs, and UPT posters torn down in common areas, the Union urges Summit and their contracted parties to live up to those promises.

“From our first day in office, the Mamdani administration has stood firmly with tenants across New York City. We took a historic step to intervene on behalf of Pinnacle tenants and secured important commitments from Summit, and we continue to coordinate with UPT to ensure that tenants see the improvements they were promised, ” said Cea Weaver, Director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants.

Summit swore to clear all violations, portfolio-wide, within 180 days of assuming ownership – by October 1st. As that deadline quickly approaches, UPT will continue to partner with the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, the Mamdani administration, and city agencies to hold Summit accountable to its commitments and to its tenants. Having secured its first win at the bargaining table, UPT is renewed in its resolve to keep building tangible, citywide tenant power in the pursuit of safe and dignified homes.

Members of the Union of Pinnacle Tenants are available for interviews through our press

liaison.

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