On clear autumn days, crispy auburn-edged leaves are trembling along the lacy skyline of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The Victorian and Neo-Baroque architectural markers of the neighborhood’s brownstones and cultural mainstays are easy to spot — stained-glass windows, an iconic magnolia tree, a park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, murals and conical spires.
The Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant, a volunteer organization with an enduring legacy of showcasing Brooklyn living, was founded in the late 1970s to encourage Black Americans from the South and the Caribbean, who had left the community, “to come home.”
Beginning in 1978, the organization’s mission has evolved from reclamation to emphasizing the fortitude of Black homeownership in central Brooklyn. Every third Saturday in October for 46 years, the Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant hold their signature event, the Annual House Tour. The entrance fee is $40.
“Some of the homes have a modern renovation and other homes have restored woodwork, the moldings, staircases, spindles,” said Chris Fox, a Brooklyn native who lives on Long Island. It’s his third time attending the home tour. “The backyard in this house is beautiful; it looks like it could be on HGTV,” Mr. Fox said after leaving Frederica Tokponwey’s ground-level renovation, which opens up into a tented backyard.
From the eastern edge of Bed-Stuy to the tree-lined blocks of Hancock Street, the style and care for the Black family home is on display. Almost every house has a colossal stack of coffee table books with works like “Afro Surf,” “Sacred Woman,” “Black Power Kitchen” and the chef Kwame Onwuachi’s “My America,” with some titles repeated in more than one home.
Most of the renovated kitchens on the tour have stone waterfall islands and luxury appliances from Gaggenau and Bertazzoni for roasting sweet potatoes and making pepper sauce. Fine original and limited edition prints from artists like Charles Bibbs, Emil Alzamora and Su-en Wong hang on the walls.
“I moved to Bed-Stuy through learning about the Brownstoners,” said Ena McPherson, a retired financial services manager and longtime community gardener. “This was the 1990s and Monique Greenwood had opened Akwaaba Mansion, and her story of renovating an 1860 Italianate villa inspired me.”
Shelley Victory, a creative director, decided to “come home” 23 years ago when she returned to Bed-Stuy from Queens. “I’m blessed with the opportunity to keep this house in pristine condition,” Ms. Victory said. “Sharing one’s life and home renovation opens you up to meeting new people.” Her brownstone has been featured on the tour three times.
“The founders wanted to change the outside attitudes about Bed-Stuy and show the positive things about the neighborhood,” said Marguerita Fletcher, chairwoman of the house tour committee and a retired educator. “We are somewhat responsible for young Black professionals staying in the neighborhood; many were looking at Crown Heights, Jersey and Long Island.” People are motivated to buy and renovate after visiting houses during the annual home tour, Ms. Fletcher added.
Over the last 20 years the Brownstoners have awarded more than $50,000 in scholarships to young people attending college.
Before the self-guided tour, the Brownstoners hold a free home buyers’ panel, which includes topics such as hiring an inspector and wood stripping. The panelists are different every year, but the themes of financing and how to progress in brownstone renovation or restoration projects remain constants.
The Brownstoners’ deep ties to small businesses and their commitment to preserving the physical touchstones of the Black home have kept the group thriving.
Black families have been leaving New York City over the last 20 years, according to a New York Times story in January 2023, citing the latest census data. Bedford-Stuyvesant lost more than 22,000 Black residents while gaining 30,000 white residents over a 10-year period, according to The Times’s analysis.
“Gentrification has arrived, but Bed-Stuy is still a neighborhood full of Black folks,” said Renee Turner Gregory, president of the Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant. Ms. Gregory lived in Queens, moved back to Bed-Stuy in 1993 and joined the Brownstoners a year later.
“Our organization will go on because we do more than a home tour,” Ms. Gregory said. The group is involved in voter registration, tax lien outreach and reading literacy at a local New York City Public School.
Achuziam Maha-Sanchez is the owner of Peace + Riot, a gift and home design shop, and mommy + papi, a children’s store next door. “My first shop on Tompkins Ave. was Ibo Landing, and I had a small customer base with paid-off mortgages and disposable incomes. They were buying custom furniture,” she said. “Now, I see an explosion of families with strollers.”
Along with Ava Barnett, an architect, Ms. Maha-Sanchez designed Shaniqua and Christian Reyes’s brownstone. The en suite bedroom and fitness room are adorned with Malene Barnett’s “Heritage” wallpaper. Malene, Ava’s cousin, is an artist living in Bed-Stuy who wrote “Crafted Kinship,” a book that focuses on Caribbean art and design.
Ms. Victory’s home was bursting with original delicate entranceway woodwork and a dark gray Ligne Roset Togo modular sofa. “I enjoyed seeing what my fellow homeowners were clearly into — art, crystals,” she said. “The tour hosts didn’t mind letting people know who they were.”
On the neighborhood’s western side, Nicky Johnson, owner of NSJ Remodeling, worked with contractors for several years to recreate the spectacular plaster molding in her townhouse. Her young daughter, Imaani, and her husband, David Arau Johnson, have turned the lower floor into a man cave meets playroom, equipped with a large TV for watching sports.
This year was the first that Mrs. Johnson’s home, which she bought in 2006, was featured on the tour, and it was the first time she had gone to see other houses. “I had in my head that 50 people would be stepping into my home. My eyes popped out of my head” when she was told, “You’ll have around 200 people inside your home.”
The tour captains or members of the Brownstoners who are present remind guests to put on their blue contractor’s shoe coverings or remove their shoes — a command that gets repeated like the Black church doxology song. “My family has owned property in Bed-Stuy since 1937,” Mrs. Maha-Sanchez said. “It’s a big deal for Black families to hold on to their homes. We talk about that fact almost daily.”
The Brownstoners’ pamphlet, which serves as both a map and a ticket on the tour day, is also a prized possession. It’s a peek into the craftsmen, local real estate brokers, hair stylists, wine shops, politicians, writers, tea and coffee cafes, filmmakers, and clothing boutiques that serve the neighborhood. The collectible also has biographical details of the homeowners, renovation tips, thoughts on their next projects and trivia on neighborhood history.
Now, a new generation of Brownstoners aims to keep the founders’ legacy alive while looking toward the future. Young members of the organization are energized and actively engaging both renters and homeowners. “We belong in a Victorian brownstone,” said Lorrie Ayers-Hutchinson, a member of the group. “It wasn’t originally made for us, but it’s ours now.”
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