BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Muzzy Rosenblatt
CEO & President
TIMELINE
1971
Founded
BRC is founded by a group of down-and-out residents of
the Bowery's infamous "flophouses" motivated to take control of their lives and change them for the better. They form a self-help day-program called "The Social Rehabilitation Club for Public Inebriates," later named The
Bowery Residents' Committee (BRC). BRC's legacy as a
client centered organization still resonates in our programs and the people we serve, even as we have grown and developed into what the New York Times called, "one of New York City’s most respected charity groups."
1976
Residential Program
BRC establishes its first residential program, the Sobering-Up Station, a place that offered healthcare and support, and community action to those in need. With this development, BRC becomes a center of dignity and self-respect for New Yorkers in crisis.
1983
Supportive Housing
BRC opens its first "scatter-site" supportive housing program, leasing and maintaining apartments in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Today, this program provides homes for over 350 formerly homeless men and women with a history of mental illness
and/or substance abuse.
1987
Homeless Outreach
BRC receives its first grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to create New York City's first homeless outreach program for those with mental illness.
1992
Senior Housing
BRC opens its first housing facility and residence for seniors on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, named in honor of former client and volunteer, Clyde Burton. Serving
older adults, Clyde Burton House ensures that New Yorker's vulnerable elderly have safe, stable, and consistent access to housing and services.
1994
Housing First
BRC is one of seven NYC nonprofits selected to administer the Federal Government's first ever voucher program designed to provide housing for people experiencing homelessness, a precursor for what today is called housing first.
1996
HIV/AIDS Support
BRC integrates HIV/AIDS services, including pre- and post-test counseling, into its programs. In the next three years, BRC will
dedicate more than 70 apartments in its Glass Factory and Los Vecinos Apartments (now known as the Sadiqua Khabir House), to
housing individuals living with HIV/AIDS.
2004
Transitional Shelter
BRC opens two transitional shelters and a 24-hour drop-in center at the Palace: an employment shelter and permenant residence that BRC created from infamous the cubicle-style flophouse dormitories at Bleecker St and Bowery, significantly expanding supportive services for individuals experiencing homelessness in the City.
2006
Outreach in Subways
BRC is awarded the The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA)'s "Connections" contract, enabing BRC outreach workers to serve New Yorkers experiencing homelessness in subway stations and transit hubs. This initiative marks the start of what is now known as BRC's Transit Outreach services, which continues in subways throughout the city.
2007
Safe Haven
BRC pioneers the first Safe Haven program in the United States, employing a harm-reduction and barrier-free model that satisfies the desires of the most reluctant unsheltered individuals. After a successful pilot phase, this model was adopted by service providers across the city.
2014
The Opioid Crisis
BRC adds medically supervised withdrawal services to its Chemical Dependency Crisis Center as rates of opioid use and death dramatically rise. In future years, this service will be expanded to include clinically focused, treatment-based residential stabilization and rehabilitation services. And BRC will lead the way in the administration of buprenorphine and naloxone.
2015
Nonprofit Excellent
Award Winner
BRC is announced as a winner of the New York Community Trust's Nonprofit Excellence Award.
2018
Landing Road
BRC celebrates the opening of the Reaching New Heights Residence and The Apartments at Landing Road. The completion of this
project demonstrates the success of the HomeStretch model, its innovative approach to use shelter contracts to cross subsidize housing for people with low income.
2020
COVID-19 Response
BRC's faces the Covid-19 pandemic adding hundreds of staff members and hundreds more beds. Dedicated frontline staff provide life-saving services to New Yorkers experiencing homelessness throughout the ongoing economic and health crisis.
2021
50th Anniversary
BRC marks its 50 Year Anniversary. Looking toward the future BRC issues its strategic plan: Moving Forward, Increasing Impact, Achieving Our Potential.
DONATION FORM
If you need assistance, please contact Shira Fisher at sfisher@brc.org
If you would like to submit a pledge, please contact Shira Fisher at sfisher@brc.org
Board of Directors
Julie Salamon, Chair
Author and Journalist
Lawrence Graham, Vice Chair
Brookfield Office Properties (retired)
Richard Swanson, Vice Chair
York Capital Management
Marcy E. Wilkov, Vice Chair
American Express (retired)
Matthew Sirovich, Treasurer
Scopia Capital
Antonio X. Molestina, Secretary
ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
Brouck Amerga
Turner Construction Company
Danny Bloom
Weight Watchers International
Richard Eaddy
Savills Studley
Julia Hodgson
Canmore Partners
Devon Lawrence
Clark Lawrence Consulting
Simon Miller
Eisner Law
Chance Morrison
AT&T
Rose Ostrow
Thomson Reuters
Philip R. Pitruzzello
BlackRock, Inc.
Steven M. Safyer, MD
Montefiore-Einstein (retired)
Todd R. Snyder
TRS Advisors
Kathryn Stokes
Community Activist
Leslie Wildes
Association to Benefit Children
Bowery Residents' Committee © 2020. All Rights Reserved
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