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About Us

“The Brownstone” is New York’s generic name for its row houses, most of them built in the nineteenth century.

The Brownstone Revival Committee of New York (BRC) was founded in 1968 by residents of brownstone communities to defend and preserve that housing and those old New York neighborhoods. Within two years it grew to 2,000 members. The first BRC lecture, by architectural historian, Clay Lancaster, drew an audience of 600, twice as many as the Donnell Library auditorium could seat.

In its early years, the organization focused on the critical problem of red-lining. We believe that our campaign with the mortgage departments of the major New York banks resulted in the breakthroughs which enabled hundreds of New Yorkers to buy brownstones on reasonable terms.

In 1974, to share the techniques of urban revival that we had developed with other cities around the country, BRC originated and was host to the First Back to the City conference. Out of this grew a sister organization, Back to the City, Inc., which over the following years sponsored thirteen Back to the City conferences in different cities around the country. Also for thirteen years, from 1973 to 1986, BRC co-sponsored with the Brooklyn Brownstone Conference the annual Brooklyn Brownstone Fair. This weekend fair, to which Brooklyn Union Gas Company gave its entire main floor on Montague Street, drew as many as 25,000 persons—possibly the best-attended preservation event in the United States.

The Brownstone Revival Committee was renamed the Brownstone Revival Coalition in 1996 and still exists today, although the neighborhoods it was created to defend no longer face the same threats.

The BRC’s program includes:

	THE BROWNSTONER: our newsy newsletter offers information and advice on matters of interest and concern to old-house lovers and their communities, New York history, home maintenance, taxes, etc. Each year, we publish a calendar with old New York pictures
	CRAFT HELP: based on the recommendations of our members and of trusted experts, we have maintained—and are now refreshing—a list of craftsmen and preservation specialists considered praiseworthy. Recommendations from our list are available to members. Typical queries: “Where can I find a good painter?”, “Do you know a good garden designer?”
	BROWNSTONERS’ LECTURES, SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS: over the years, BRC has sponsored many, many lectures, seminars, and all-day workshops. Those popular talks and workshops feature a variety of subjects of interest to old-house owners and residents.
	TOURS of various kinds.
	PUBLICATION of “The Brownstone Revival Committee’s Guide to New York City’s Fine Old Neighborhoods”. This booklet has been extraordinarily influential in helping people find homes in our older neighborhoods.
	An annual MEETING at a location of particular interest.