New York attorney general Letitia James and 109-20 Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills (Getty, Google Maps)
Real estate billionaire Joel Wiener ran afoul of the law once again, resulting in a penalty paid to a Queens condo and the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
The Pinnacle Group chief executive admitted to not properly acknowledging needed capital repairs at a Forest Hills condo conversion when selling units, The City reported. Wiener settled the case with the state Attorney General in June, but it had not been previously disclosed.
Under the settlement, Wiener paid $330,000 to the reserve fund of The Georgian at 109-20 Queens Boulevard, which covers the cost of the needed piping. Wiener also paid $150,000 to the HPD, which the AG confirmed was paid.
Pinnacle also agreed to replace electric stoves with gas stoves on the company’s dime.
Wiener’s firm started exploring ways to bring the gas piping up to Con Edison specifications in March 2017, three months before sales closed on the first five condos. Three subsequent amendments filed by Pinnacle, however, didn’t disclose work to replace piping. The company also didn’t disclose the need for the repairs until a November 2018 condo board meeting.
“I think they were trying to cover it, but then unfortunately on their part, the problem resurfaced about a year after the conversion to the condo happened,” condo board president Sabrina Gao told The City. She and two other board members filed a complaint in 2019 after a gas leak in the building.
Residents at the building also accused Pinnacle of levying overcharges hidden in maintenance fees; a spokesperson said “maintenance costs were fully disclosed.” A fire during the conversion process also threatened the occupancy of rent-stabilized tenants.
Wiener reached billionaire status in 2017, despite once being a target of tenant harassment and fraud investigations. The company has managed as many as 20,000 units in New York City and has converted 40 buildings into condominiums.
In 2006, Pinnacle admitted to overcharging rent-stabilized tenants in the Bronx, agreeing to pay $1 million to 300 tenants. Five years later, it settled a class-action lawsuit with rent-regulated tenants in the Bronx who claimed to be victims of harassment, price gouging and eviction attempts.
Pinnacle last year donated $50,000 to tenant organizing nonprofits after failing to apply a front-door lock system change at a Flushing condo conversion, which led to many tenants having difficulty getting into their own homes.
— Holden Walter-Warner