New York City tenants battle steep rent hikes and faulty elevators

Brooklyn’s historic Riverside Apartments, built in 1890 as affordable worker housing, is now owned by Joel Wiener’s Pinnacle Group. Tenants say years of neglect — crumbling plaster, infestations, broken lights — were followed in 2024 by rent‑stabilized increases of 100 % to 400 % and back‑rent claims up to $30,000. They allege landlord harassment and have taken the case to housing court, while Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited the building to address the dispute.

In Queens, the rent‑stabilized Hunter’s Point South complex in Long Island City serves about 1,000 residents with only nine elevators. Tenants report frequent breakdowns, entrapments and even a cable snap that trapped a woman and child in 2024. Despite recent upgrades, elevators still malfunction, leading resident Matt Aaron to call getting stuck “a rite of passage” and prompting many to rely on stairs. The ongoing problems have drawn criticism of management’s response and heightened calls for city oversight.