ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) – A champion of social justice and Ithaca community staple has died.

Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS) Co-Founder Lucy Brown passed away on February 9. Brown helped launch INHS in 1976 and served on its Board of Directors for nearly 40 years.

INHS Co-Founder Lucy Brown, Credit: ithacanhs.org

In August 2024, a statue of Brown’s likeness was unveiled in Ithaca to recognize her contributions to the city. Brown was one of two important women whose statues were commissioned, joining Frances Perkins, a Cornell lecturer and the United States Secretary of Labor during the FDR administration.

The morning after Brown’s passing, INHS officials say they found her statue wrapped in a blanket. She was 91.