On Friday, the Mamdani administration's last-minute attempt to halt the bankruptcy auction of 5,200 rent-stabilized apartments owned by the Pinnacle Group failed, after a judge allowed the sale of the portfolio to Summit Gold Inc., a company owned by Israeli businessman Zohar Levy.
The $451 million sale was approved by bankruptcy court Judge David Jones on Friday afternoon. It came following a marathon, nine-hour hearing the day before, in which lawyers for the City and the Union of Pinnacle Tenants voiced their staunch opposition to the deal and demanded that Levy make a legally binding commitment to his new tenants to repair their buildings. For years, tenants have accused Pinnacle of purposefully neglecting their buildings, describing the company as a "corporate slumlord." From 2019 to 2024, "immediately hazardous" housing violations increased fourfold at the buildings involved in the sale, with issues spanning from mice and roach infestations to water leaks.
Levy has committed to spending $1.5 million to correct all of the most serious violations on the Pinnacle buildings within two months of closing—including vermin control—and to fixing the rest of the violations within six months. In an oral decision given via video conference on Friday, Judge Jones said he found Levy's promises to repair the buildings credible, and did not add any conditions into the sale agreement to hold him to account. "I'm satisfied that the purchaser, through Mr. Levy's declaration, has described a serious and reasonable sounding plan to rectify violations and poor conditions at the properties at issue," Judge Jones said. The sale will be finalized within 30 to 90 days.
While the City didn't ultimately accomplish what it set out to do—pause the auction long enough to find an alternative purchaser—tenant advocates said they were still encouraged by the Mamdani administration's actions. A lawyer for the Union of Pinnacle Tenants, Legal Aid's Ed Josephson, said he thinks the City's intervention forced Levy to say that Summit will correct all violations in the Pinnacle buildings within 180 days.