Black Brooklyn Family Races to Save Elder's Lifelong Bed-Stuy Home After Grant Falls Through

For her entire life, Sylvia Fye—known affectionately as "Ms. Sylvia"—has lived in the same Bedford-Stuyvesant building in Brooklyn. The house is where she was raised, later welcomed Tangina Stone and her partner, Emani, and built a close, chosen family with them.

After years of resisting attempts to take the property, the household now faces the real possibility of losing the home. Stone, 34, told TheGrio that she and Emani have lived at the address for nearly 15 years, and that Ms. Sylvia, 70 and childless, calls the couple her children.

"We eat meals together. We care for each other when we're sick. We look out for each other in all ways," Stone said. "We're family. We are a chosen family."

The family has spent roughly three years contending with threats to the property, which they say reflect broader patterns of deed fraud and predatory practices that often target older Black homeowners. Out of safety concerns, Stone declined to share specifics of the current scheme, but warned of the "nefarious, sneaky ways" developers and opportunists use to acquire homes.

Family and community members gather at the Bed-Stuy home Tangina Stone (far left) and Emani share with Ms. Sylvia. Stone described the home as a place of respite for their family and community. Photo credit: Tangina Stone

Approved Grant, Then Silence

The household believed relief had arrived when Ms. Sylvia was approved for a Sustainable Neighborhoods grant after a lengthy application process with audits and inspections. The family expected the program to send funds directly to their mortgage servicer to secure the property. Instead, the grant ghosted them: months passed without payment, and, after local officials were consulted and missing paperwork supplied, the family was told the program had run out of funds and no alternative aid was offered.

Community Steps In

Because they had been counting on the grant, Stone and the family delayed crowdfunding. In July, Stone launched a Chuffed campaign with a $70,000 goal to cover the costs needed to save the home. More than 1,000 supporters have donated nearly $53,000 to date, giving the family crucial breathing room.

As the fundraiser circulated, pro bono legal help emerged: an attorney joined their case and negotiated an initial two-week extension while pressing for more time. Stone said the community support has provided leverage the family previously lacked.

Ms. Sylvia joins community members advocating for landmark designation of the Willoughby-Hart Historic District, which includes the Bed-Stuy home where she has lived her entire life. (Photo courtesy of Tangina Stone)

Personal Strain and Local Advocacy

Stone is also juggling recovery from a preventative upper mastectomy after learning she has Lynch Syndrome, a hereditary condition that raises her risk for several cancers. She described the simultaneous fights for health care and housing as exhausting and emblematic of the broader advocacy she does as vice president of her block association, where she helps other elders facing housing threats.

The home sits in the Willoughby-Hart Historic District, which earned landmark status in 2024 after decades of neighborhood preservation work. For Stone, saving Ms. Sylvia's house is about preserving place, memory and a Black family's continuity in Brooklyn.

Beyond the legal battle, Stone wants people to know Ms. Sylvia's life: she once ran beauty salons in Bed-Stuy and Flatbush and was part of New York City's influential Paradise Garage scene in the late 1970s and 1980s. Today, Ms. Sylvia hopes to spend her retirement on the back porch of the home where she has lived her whole life, watching a thriving garden and knowing she will not be forced out.