Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Upper Manhattan tenants want ‘seat at table’ following Signature collapse, landlord default
By
David Brand
Published Apr 15, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By
David Brand
Published Apr 15, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Tenants advocating for repairs and improvements across dozens of rent-stabilized buildings in northern Manhattan say they want a “seat at the table” as the federal government weighs selling off loans from the collapsed Signature Bank.
Hundreds of residents across about 50 mostly rent-stabilized buildings owned by private equity firm Sugar Hill Capital have organized to demand improvements in their aging buildings, many of which were financed by Signature. Sugar Hill purchased the portfolio in early 2019 with a plan to raise rents, turn a profit and pay off investors. But new tenant protection laws that took effect six months later capped their potential revenues, leading them to cut costs and eventually default on their mortgages.
Sugar Hill and the nonprofit group Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement have been in talks about HCCI taking over the portfolio, but the sale has stalled. The federal shutdown of Signature Bank added more confusion, with a coalition of tenants saying they want a voice in who takes over their buildings.
In a statement earlier this month, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. committed to consulting with local officials and community groups before selling the rent-stabilized building loans. The tenant coalition leaders say they want to be heard, too.
“We want the FDIC to honor its commitment to giving tenants a seat at the table,” said Adam Blazej, an Inwood resident and one of the lead organizers of the tenant group pressuring Sugar Hill for repairs. “We want to make sure the loans don’t go to another predatory landlord.”
Signature was a huge player in New York City’s rent-stabilized housing market. The bank financed about 3,000 residential properties with around 80,000 apartments, many of them rent-stabilized, according to University Neighborhood Housing Program’s lender-tracking Building Indicator Project.
Many of the loans, now controlled by the FDIC, were based on the expectation that owners could increase revenue by raising rents. New tenant protection laws passed in 2019 defused the business model, leaving many landlords unable to meet the terms of their loans while also investing in building repairs and upkeep.
Tenants at Sugar Hill-owned buildings in Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood have complained about faulty heat and water systems, vermin infestations, and a lack of superintendents to address daily needs.
“The buildings need massive reinvestment,” Blazej said. “It’s the bread and butter stuff.”
Margaret Grossman, Sugar Hill’s managing partner and president, said she hears tenant complaints and has “been working tirelessly to transfer our rent-stabilized properties to HCCI.”
She said the 2019 tenant laws, which eliminated rent hikes on vacant units and capped increases following major investments, “made it impossible for existing property owners to invest needed capital improvements into rent-stabilized buildings.”
Transferring the buildings to a nonprofit like HCCI “could serve as a model solution to this problem [but] time is of the essence, especially for buildings that need capital improvements,” Grossman said.
She said the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development has to issue a property tax break to HCCI that would allow it to buy the buildings. HPD said the agency is considering the sale and financial tools.
HCCI President Malcolm Punter said the organization has been “negotiating in good faith” with Sugar Hill.
But the tenant coalition says it’s interested in opportunities to buy the buildings themselves, a theme that came up often at a large organizing meeting in February.
“I think someone else has to come and take over ownership of these buildings, or they have to give us ownership of them in some way,” said tenant Tay Raymond, who has lived in her West 116th Street building for more than 30 years.
The residents have the backing of Brad Lander, the city comptroller. He has advocated for avenues for tenants to get the first crack at buying their buildings under state legislation known as the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act.
He said there could be a silver lining in the Signature collapse if tenants and community groups are given more of a say in the future of their homes. The situation could be a bellwether for what’s to come as other overleveraged rent-stabilized property owners face foreclosure.
But the collapse of Signature Bank and the transfer of its rent-stabilized property mortgages mark an opportunity for “mission-driven” lenders and owners to step in, says Lander.
In a letter shared with Gothamist, Lander urged the FDIC to ensure any bank that buys the Signature loans commits to “best practices” like inspecting building conditions and investing in improvements.
“There are a lot of questions we don't know the answers to,” Lander said. “But you want a lender who's willing to engage in conversations about a workout that puts the portfolio on a sustainable path.”
Tagged
housing
manhattan
David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .