109th Street Buildings Go On Market

In the midst of a citywide housing crisis, a notorious Harlem landlord has put 22 buildings on W. 109th Street up for sale.

The buildings, which the Pinnacle Group acquired in September 2005, are located between Columbus Ave. and Broadway and include 384 residential units. According to the listing on real estate information provider Eastern Consolidate’s Web site, Pinnacle is seeking a single buyer for the group of buildings, and “only offers for the entire portfolio are being considered at this time.”

The Pinnacle Group, which owns a reported 21,000 apartments throughout the city, has been referred to frequently as a contributor to gentrification in Upper Manhattan. While Pinnacle owns one of the city’s largest portions of rent-controlled apartments, many tenants have questioned the group’s tactics and say they suffered or were threatened with wrongful evictions.

An investigation launched by Congressman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) in 2006 resulted in a settlement in which Pinnacle admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to hire an auditor to analyze rents. Another investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office is still underway, as is a lawsuit brought by Buyers and Renters United to Save Harlem, a tenants’ advocacy group based in Harlem and northern Manhattan.

Pinnacle addressed the topic of rent-controlled apartments in its EC listing, which stated that 251—or about 65 percent—of the units in the buildings in question are rent-stabilized, with an average monthly rent of $1,009. But rents in recently renovated units are higher, ranging from $1,700 for studios to $2,800 for three bedroom apartments.

The group also spoke to what it characterized as the financial importance of maintaining the 22 buildings as a collective.

“The geographic concentration [of the 22 buildings] affords significant management efficiencies and considerable economies of scale, such as superintendent coverage, delivery of fuel, supplies and materials, collection of rent, and placement of workers,” the listing stated. “This is evident by the use of only six superintendents to service 22 buildings.”

EC’s Harrison Douglas, a broker for the W. 109th Street listing, would not comment on the exact asking price or whether bids had been received, though the listing requested that all cash offers be submitted by Feb. 6. The New York Observer estimated that the collective could come with a price tag of approximately $70 million.

Robert Barletta, vice president of the Marino Organization, a public relations group which represents Pinnacle, did not return multiple calls for comment.

Pinnacle acquired some of the buildings in question from Baruch Singer—a landlord called by some tenants “the city’s most notorious slum lord”—in September 2005, when the group and its real estate investment trust, the Praedium Fund, purchased 104 Harlem and Upper West Side rental buildings for a total of $500 million. Some of the buildings acquired through that purchase are among the 109th Street properties.

lydia.wileden@columbiaspectator.com