Pinnacle brushes off tenants’ concerns
This is in response to the article that appeared in the October issue, “One big city landlord and many little headaches.”
Buyers and Renters United To Save Harlem (BRUSH) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve affordable and quality housing for all Northern Manhattan and Harlem residents. The organization’s objective is to advocate on behalf of tenants and to educate tenants about their rights, as well as to promote home ownership.
BRUSH was started as a result of the aggressive management practices of the Pinnacle Group. Pinnacle’s statement that tenants are not paying rent is tantamount to blaming the victim for the company’s own negligent behavior. After repeated efforts to get repairs done in their apartments, many tenants withhold the rent to force the company to make repairs; other tenants believe they are being overcharged in rent. Long-term residents are being hauled into court despite the company’s prior knowledge of the tenant’s current occupancy status.
In addition, Pinnacle’s condominium plan offers no community-development side that would encourage new business investment — and attract shoppers to retail areas, and, therefore, create a positive effect on the adjoining residential areas. The average “as is” price is $850,000, compared to new construction being sold in the community for substantially the same price with far more amenities.
Standing alone, many of these buildings are pre-war structures, and still have their original electrical and plumbing systems. Tenants are frequently confronted with electrical and plumbing problems. Like any other person seeking to invest, tenants want their investment to be practical and profitable. Aggressive management practices, minimal repairs and service, coupled with the condition of these buildings, are not enticing for most tenants.
Kim L. Powell
President of BRUSH
Manhattan
West 8th Street changing, not tanking
I am responding to the article “Lift sought for Greenwich Village shoe district” in the October issue as the executive director of the Village Alliance, a business improvement district that includes West 8th Street, to correct several factual errors and misrepresentations.
The article stated that “24 of 54 shoe stores have closed.” There were never 54 shoe retailers on 8th Street. In 1998, there were 27 shoe stores on West 8th Street; in January of 2006, 23, and, currently, 17, including one footwear retailer who left and recently returned to 8th Street. The decline in shoe stores is not “devastating,” as the article suggests, but a reflection of changing consumer demands, a changing demographic environment and the opening of shoe stores in every New York City neighborhood.
There are no “Going Out of Business” signs on the street, while in the past six months nine new businesses have opened or are in the process of opening, and two existing tenants expanded into additional available space.
Two minor corrections address street locations. First, Broadway Panhandler is located at 65 East 8th Street, while the 14 shoe stores mentioned on 14th Street are located between Sixth Avenue and University Place.
Undoubtedly, West 8th Street is in the throes of change brought about by a decline in the range of tenant types. With a new tenant mix unfolding and the demographics of the primary trade area showing significant increases in both household income, and prospective purchasing power, the business potential for new area shops and services is positive. One can assume that footwear will always be a part of the 8th Street retail scene.
But after a successful run for over 20 years, the addition of new business establishments on the block will create a more diverse shopping experience for our existing population as well as for those from surrounding neighborhoods.
Honi Klein
Executive director of the Village Alliance
Manhattan