Overview
- The mayor’s office published a nearly 14‑minute documentary in early August that tells the story of tenants who organized against the Pinnacle Group.
- The film credits tenant organizing with helping secure Summit Properties’ commitment to invest $30 million in repairs and to forgive millions in back rent for roughly 93 buildings and about 5,100 rent‑stabilized units.
- City officials say the video was produced in‑house by the mayor’s video unit, and public records show about $6,000 in recent purchases of filming equipment though the full production cost was not disclosed.
- The documentary is narrated by actor Morgan Spector, who the city says was unpaid, and it prominently features Cea Weaver of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants whose past social‑media comments about private property have drawn criticism.
- Watchdogs and some outlets have objected to the use of taxpayer resources for a politically framed film and to the documentary’s omission of the tenant union’s ties to a Crown Heights Palestine Solidarity group, raising questions about transparency and selective framing.