Film documents how tenant organizing secured millions in repairs, debt relief and a stronger future for nearly 100 buildings
Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani released a new short documentary, The Union of Pinnacle Tenants: A Short History of NYC Housing, chronicling how tenants across 93 buildings formerly owned by Pinnacle Group organized to defend their homes, build collective power and win repairs for their homes.
On his first day in office, Mayor Mamdani visited a Pinnacle building and directed the New York City Law Department to intervene in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings in support of the Union of Pinnacle Tenants (UPT).
Through interviews with tenants and City leaders, along with footage from pivotal moments in the campaign, the film tells the story of an organizing effort that secured a commitment from the buildings’ new owners to invest $30 million in repairs and forgive tenants’ rent arrears. It also follows the ongoing fight for fair lease renewals, high-quality repairs and other protections that tenants continue to bargain for together.
As the Mamdani administration continues to support UPT and tenant organizing across the five boroughs, this film highlights what becomes possible when neighbors come together to fight for one another. The Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants (MOPT) will partner with UPT to host screenings for tenants across the city.
“The Union of Pinnacle Tenants has shown what becomes possible when neighbors organize. Across nearly 100 buildings, tenants came together and won important victories that made real, material impacts in New Yorkers’ lives. I’m proud to stand with them as they continue the fight for affordable, dignified housing across the city,” said Mayor Mamdani. “This film tells the story of that organizing, but I hope it also reminds New York City tenants that the power to change their living conditions begins with one another. The most protected tenant is an organized tenant.”
The documentary is part of the Mamdani administration’s broader effort to build tenant power across New York City. Through its comprehensive housing plan, Block by Block, and the Rental Ripoff Report, the administration is advancing policies to strengthen tenant organizing, including legally recognizing tenant unions.
The administration also issued a “Right to Organize” letter, signed by Mayor Mamdani, reaffirming tenants’ right to knock on their neighbors’ doors, form tenant associations and hold meetings without landlord interference.
Most recently, the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement and MOPT launched the “Talk to Tenants” campaign, sending staff and volunteers into neighborhoods facing the most acute housing challenges to ensure tenants know their rights, including their right to organize a tenant union.
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