gothamist.com Open in urlscan Pro
2606:4700:10::ac43:16cc  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Donate
 
 

News


NYC PUBLIC HOUSING OFFICIALS BACK PRIVATE FIRM FIRED FROM BROOKLYN CAMPUS



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By
David Brand

Published Apr 23, 2024 at 2:34 p.m. ET

1 comment

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Never miss a story
 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from
New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
 
Photo by David Brand

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By
David Brand

Published Apr 23, 2024 at 2:34 p.m. ET

1 comment

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2024. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

New York City public housing administrators say they have full confidence in a
private company tapped to manage a pair of developments after the firm was fired
from another Brooklyn complex late last year.

NYCHA Executive Vice President Jonathan Gouveia defended Pinnacle City Living
during questioning last Friday from members of the City Council at a hearing on
the state of public housing that’s converted to private management.

As Gothamist first reported, Pinnacle managed the Hope Gardens campus in
Bushwick from 2019 until the site developer, Pennrose, fired them in late 2023.
In a December letter to U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, a Pennrose executive said
Pinnacle had put funding in jeopardy and failed to implement “cost-saving
measures to curb ballooning controllable operating expenses.”

Pinnacle spokesperson Meg Fitzgerald said they “vehemently deny the allegations”
that Pennrose made in its letter to Velázquez.

Brooklyn Councilmember Darlene Mealy asked Gouveia about NYCHA’s continued work
with Pinnacle at West Brighton Houses on Staten Island despite their termination
from Hope Gardens in Brooklyn. Pinnacle was picked to manage the 634-unit Staten
Island complex last April.

Gouveia said it wasn’t NYCHA’s idea to remove them as Hope Gardens’ property
manager, and that housing authority officials thought they would do a good job
at West Brighton. He said Pinnacle has close ties to development company BFC
Partners, which was selected to run the campus through NYCHA's Rental Assistance
Demonstration-Permanent Affordability Commitment Together, or RAD-PACT, program.



“They have a long-standing relationship,” he said. “It appears there is a good
working relationship there and we’re confident that we can move forward.”

BFC did not respond to an email seeking comment.

NYCHA has so far converted more than 60 developments, including roughly 16,000
apartments, to RAD-PACT. The conversions change the source of federal funding
for each unit and are supposed to help relieve the cash-strapped public housing
agency, which has estimated it needs around $78 billion to cover repairs and
renovations across its more than 177,000 apartments.

Gouveia told councilmembers that NYCHA would listen to tenants if they wanted
“to cut ties” with a private management company or developer, although the
agency hasn’t initiated the removal of a single firm.

“We would certainly be willing to hear from the residents, but as it relates to
West Brighton, my understanding is Pinnacle has a very good relationship with
West Brighton,” he said.

Pinnacle was also selected as property manager at the Rangel Houses in Harlem
last October.



“We feel privileged to have collaborated with the Hope Gardens community and
take pride in the achievements we accomplished during our four-and-a-half years
as manager,” said Fitzgerald, Pinnacle’s spokesperson. “We are excited to join
new NYCHA partnerships to continue our tradition of exceptional service to
transform communities and benefit residents."

While local elected officials criticized what they said was a lack of
transparency around the decision to fire Pinnacle, several supporters of the
privatization program argued the move shows underperforming companies can be
terminated.

Howard Slatkin, executive director of the nonprofit Citizens Housing and
Planning Council, said he didn’t know the specifics of the breakdown between
Pinnacle and Pennrose, but added that the ability to sever ties with a company
is an important accountability measure.

“One of the features of PACT is that there’s a responsiveness that’s possible in
property management because an underperforming property manager can be
replaced,” Slatkin said. “The ultimate clients in PACT are the NYCHA residents,
and at the end of day the results have to be improved conditions for NYCHA
tenants.”

Tenants testifying at the hearing on Friday expressed different views on the
privatization efforts.

Sheryl Boyce, president of Brooklyn’s Bay View Houses resident association, said
the upcoming conversion at her complex seemed to be the only realistic way to
address “aging and infrastructural damages.”



“If it kept going the way it was going, there wasn’t going to be a future,” she
said. “The development was going to continue to have a steady downfall.”

But several other residents and advocates blasted the performance of RAD-PACT
companies so far, and said they had dealt with shoddy materials, poor
maintenance, aggressive staff and management companies levying additional fees.

Boulevard Houses tenant Yolanda Hall testified that her apartment failed an
inspection despite recent renovations, and that she's had trouble contacting the
developer and management company running her Brooklyn campus.

“The apartment is already falling apart,” she said. “It’s hard to reach anyone
in this RAD-PACT program that can give you assistance.”




Tagged

new york city
housing
manhattan
brooklyn
staten island
Politics

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

David Brand


David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email
dbrand@nypublicradio.org or Signal 908-310-3960.

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MORE news

New York bans insurance discrimination against low-income tenants

The new measures come nine months after a Gothamist investigation into source of
income discrimination by property insurers.

By
David Brand

Published Apr 23, 2024 at 10:57 a.m. ET

6 comments

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Early Addition: Feels like it's getting windier around here

Because New Jersey residents agree, it's getting windier, here are your early
links: Secret Service would chaperone Trump in jail, LIRR Candy Crush king,
captchas are getting really hard and more.

By
James Ramsay
37 comments
News
Early Addition: Feels like it's getting windier around here

Because New Jersey residents agree, it's getting windier, here are your early
links: Secret Service would chaperone Trump in jail, LIRR Candy Crush king,
captchas are getting really hard and more.

By
James Ramsay
37 comments

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Police say roughly 120 arrested as NYC campus protests against Israeli
government gain in reach and fervor
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
Bahar Ostadan
144 comments
NYC street vendors targeted for lack of licenses despite City Hall promising
otherwise
By
Arya Sundaram
8 comments
We set out to define New York City sidewalk etiquette and received more than 400
answers
By
James Ramsay
93 comments

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC
stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from
New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
AdvertisingContact UsOur TeamRSS FeedDiversity (DEI)Careers
Gothamist

Gothamist is a website about New York City news, arts, events and food, brought
to you by New York Public Radio.

AdvertisingContact UsOur TeamRSS FeedDiversity (DEI)Careers


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FacebookTwitterInstagramYoutube
Terms Of UsePrivacy PolicyAccessibility
©2024 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved.