For the first time in the show's history, host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram take This Old House on the road to New York City to restore a neglected 1904 brownstone in Brooklyn. Homeowners Karen Shen and Kevin Costello will convert the former rooming house into a three family home while preserving and restoring period detail wherever possible. In Brooklyn, Norm meets veteran brownstone remodeling contractor Michael R. Streaman at a similar job down the street to see how he transformed one of these rooming houses into a beautiful, modern family home. Back at the project house, Streaman gets to work on demolition and also starts stripping the paint off the back of the house to prepare the brick for re-pointing and eventually the installation of new energy-efficient windows.