Pinnacle aiming to ease the strain in Harlem.

The Pinnacle Group, a New York City-based residential property owner and manager, announced a multi-year grant to the Harlem Consumer Education Council (HCEC) to support the establishment of the Harlem Senior Tenants and Landlords Reconciliation Center.

The goal of the Center will be to educate and train Harlem's senior tenants, property managers, and landlords on the rights and obligations of all three groups in order to decrease the number of conflicts that arise among them.

Under the terms of the grant, The Pinnacle Group will contribute $500,000 over five years to HCEC to support the growth of the Center. Pinnacle's support for the Center grew out of a meeting with community leaders and tenants in June 2006 in which there was an open dialogue and sharing of views on the problems faced by tenants and seniors in the Harlem community related to affordable housing. Continued dialogue between representatives of the Harlem community and The Pinnacle Group since that meeting led to the creation of the Center.

"This model is unique and innovative because for the first time in Harlem's recent history, a program's primary focus will be to bring together senior tenants, landlords and property managers to address issues all three groups face everyday," said HCEC founder Florence M. Rice. "It will provide a forum where they can come together and work in a non-threatening environment to develop, not necessarily perfect, but workable solutions that each group can live with."

Founded in 1967, the Harlem Consumer Education Council, Inc. is a private, non-profit, consumer advocacy organization established to address the profound poverty, neglect, exploitation and neighborhood deterioration confronting poor and low income citizens living in New York City's Harlem community.

"This worthy initiative will offer tenants, and particularly seniors, a vehicle to address any concerns in an open, timely and cost-effective manner," said Joel Wiener, CEO of The Pinnacle Group. "The Pinnacle Group believes in setting the standard for housing in New York City and listening to the communities we serve. We are proud to be a part of this innovative program which will help so many tenants across Upper Manhattan."

Project staff at HCEC will act as conveners, bringing landlords, managers and senior tenants together to address and settle their differences through a conflict resolution process that will enable each group to discuss the issues at hand and reassess their respective positions in a trust-building, non-threatening environment. When there is a need for intervention, a conflict resolution process will be implemented, with the goal of resolving issues quickly and at the lowest possible level. All practical remedies outside of the legal system will be exhausted first in a dedicated and conscientious effort.