When Alma Hicks stepped out of her place in Homewood, she was surrounded by properties cited as unsafe by the city. Most of them, including the brownstone in which she lives, are under new ownership: A subsidiary of Rising Tide Partners, a nonprofit with a mission of restoring communities. Walking toward Hamilton Avenue, Hicks pointed out properties owned by Rising Tide. Earlier this year, the nonprofit wrested control of 93 properties in Homewood through the use of the conservatorship law.