The iconic brick Riverside Apartments in Brooklyn Heights were built by philanthropist Alfred T. White in 1890 as a model of tenement reform.
At the time, the tenements many working-class people called home were crowded, dark, and dangerous. White’s buildings were comfortable and safe; the apartments, while small, had light, air, and running water, unlike the ones in most tenements. Most important, they were affordable for workers.
Now, residents at Riverside say the buildings have fallen into disrepair, and that their landlord – Joel Wiener of Pinnacle Group — is trying to raise rents and push them out of one of the few rent-stabilized complexes left in the neighborhood. Pinnacle Group has had legal and financial troubles in recent years as tenants across the city have complained of systematic neglect…