www.changemakers.com/en-us/sustainableurbanhousing

PUSH’s project is the only one in the running (ten finalists) that’s not in the developing world. Ah, Buffalo – our little bit of the developing world, so close to home!

How about BEST PLACE TO GET DIRTY?!
We want it; we want it real bad (uh ugnh).

Materials harvested from the demolition, such as roof joists, rafters, wall studs, interior trim, bricks and foundation stone, will be sold to the general public at low cost from Buffalo ReUse’s ReSource retail store at 298 Northampton Street in Buffalo and used to fund ReUse’s job creation and community revitalization programs.

Eric Walker, Lead Organizer for People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH), said “PUSH is taking a block by block approach, working in the community to stabilize this neighborhood. Jimmy Strach, who lives next door, has saved his Victorian home from the wrecking ball. When a guy makes a huge personal investment and saves a house from demo, we need to draw a line, take a stand and back him up on it. We also need to help community residents reclaim vacant spaces in ways that enhance and improve their quality of life. Green demolition of this house is a win-win for the neighborhood and for Buffalo.”

Buffalo ReUse sees green demolition as another way to reduce housing costs by using reclaimed lumber and other building materials from Buffalo’s large surplus of vacant houses, rather than crunch it up and throw it away at great expense.  By employing state-of-the-art green demolition techniques, Buffalo ReUse can harvest lumber efficiently and sell it to the public at costs averaging half of new material.

David Stapleton of David Homes and his team of builders welcomed the opportunity to build a new energy efficient house for the Powell family of 228 Massachusetts Ave on Buffalo’s West Side; however, there was one major obstacle in the way–the 2.5 story woodframe house the family had been living in for 4 years.  Buffalo ReUse got the call when the Project Manager was looking for a local contractor that could help them achieve an LEED Emerald Award for material reclamation, recycling and landfill diversion.  Buffalo ReUse is WNY’s first and only nonprofit Green Demolition and Salvage Crew.  They have been developing green demolition in Buffalo for over 2 years now.  Buffalo ReUse consulted with deconstruction guru, David Bennink.

David Bennink, of RE-USE Consulting, has been perfecting hybrid deconstruction for over 15 years and he has managed hundreds of green demolition projects across the country.  The biggest challenge of taking down the house was the time deadline.  “… but once I walked the building, I knew that Buffalo Reuse and I could pull off this project and my focus turned to doing it safely and finding the best way to represent the building deconstruction industry in this national spotlight.  It is likely that the building weighed about 80-100 tons not including the foundation or porch stone, or 150-175 tons with it, and of that we diverted an estimated 75% including a large volume of foundation stone hauled offsite for processing and reuse. ”

Buffalo ReUse’s rapid green demolition of the Powell’s old house was a demonstration of the practicality and economic feasibility of the technique–the house was deconstructed in under 17 hours! Our hope is that green demolition will soon be the mainstream method of demolition and the first choice for builders and municipalities in need of demolition.  Beyond reducing building costs, Buffalo’s “problem” of vacant houses can be turned into an opportunity to create jobs, train young people, fund community improvement programs and offer low-cost building materials to the public.

Volunteers from the public and Americorps WNY were directed on-site by ReUse staff and shown how to pull up flooring, prep wall panels and cut the joists in the attic so that the house could be taken apart efficiently and safely.  Hundreds of volunteers swarmed the house and salvaged interior finishes like window and door trim, baseboards, the stairwell and even piled 6 pallets of brick and 4 pallets of sandstone and limestone.  The Show chose select pieces from within the house to incorporate into its new furnishings and honor the history of the house and the family’s experiences.  Other house parts were carted off for use in adjacent houses and improvement projects in the neighborhood.
Buffalo ReUse DTech, Carrie Nader, commented, “It was great, if I needed a tool or something, I shouted for it and suddenly it appeared.  So many people were processing panels and loading trucks–all the material just disappeared.”  Amanda Alessandra operated the 10K telescopic forklift all night.  She has been a DTech Crew Leader for more than a year, “It was really a different experience to have an audience cheering for our progress as we separated each panel of the house and dropped it to the ground.”
Board Members of Buffalo ReUse were onhand to get dirty, perform safety checks, assist with cutting up the house, sorting materials, loading the trucks or spur the crowd to cheer on the Deconstruction Crew and Volunteers.
Everyone at Buffalo ReUse is proud to be a part of making a clear path of progress for the Powell family and all of Buffalo’s neighborhoods.

So if you know of a commercial place that has reused building material from the ReSource in it, please let me know!! We get very excited when we see our inventory being put to good use.

AND, for anyone who has bought something from our store that is now being used in your home, please share with us as well. Take a snapshot of the handiwork you’ve done, or the creative way you’ve reused those tiles or that window, and email it to rachel {at} buffaloreuse(.)org. We would like to fill the store with pictures and stories to inspire other Western New Yorkers!

This apron tub was bought and refinished by Bill & Melanie Wolski, and look how gorgeous it turned out. They also re-used spindles, a door, a mantelpiece, and several windows in their home. Click on the tub to see our collection of pictures from their beautiful house.

Buffalo ReUSE: Building Community by Carl Lee focuses on the multi-faceted work of Buffalo ReUSE to deconstruct houses in order to create jobs and community.

Refugees: Buffalo’s Next Generation by Brett Williams and Scott Murchie illuminates the issues that refugee students face and how the Refugee School Impact Program of Journey’s End Refugee Service Inc. works closely with the families and schools to help bridge the existing cultural and linguistic gap.

PUSHing People Power: Rebuilding Buffalo’s West Side is a story about ordinary citizens working together to create and sustain an urban community that values sustainable and equitable housing, jobs and lifestyles.

Everybody Has a Story by Holly Johnson looks at some of the issues facing families of children with mental health diagnoses, exploring the challenges facing families through the eyes of some of the youth, parents, and organizers who are a part of the mental health movement.

About the filmmakers: Brett M. Williams has been making films and videos since 2002 and graduated from the Department of Media Study, State University of New York at Buffalo, where he received the Gregory Cappasso Memorial Award for outstanding achievement as an undergraduate student. Scott T. Murchie is a 2002 graduate from University of Toronto’s Film and Video Department and founding member of Chance Encounter Productions in Clarence, New York. Ruth Goldman is an award-winning, internationally exhibited documentary filmmaker and a PhD Candidate in the Department of American Studies at the University at Buffalo. Holly Johnson is a media and performance artist living in Buffalo, NY who draws on her experiences as an educator, poet, visual artist, and web designer to help explore the diverse topics that inspire her. Carl Lee is an award-winning documentary and experimental filmmaker who is currently working on a documentary about musician William Parker.  
dorothea braemer, executive director
squeaky wheel :: buffalo’s media arts center
712 Main Street
Buffalo, NY  14202
716-884-7172 ph
716-886-1619 fax
New opening hours:  Tues-Thurs 1-7; Fri-Sat 1-5
http://www.squeaky.org

The Urban Land Institute and the Financial Times cite Buffalo ReUse as one of 20 finalists for 2008 FT ULI Sustainable Cities Award

(BUFFALO) – The Financial Times and the Urban Land Institute have selected Buffalo ReUse as one of 20 finalists for the 2008 FT ULI Sustainable Cities Award based on nominations received from around the world. Buffalo ReUse was nominated for this award by Assemblymember Sam Hoyt and Ciminelli Development.

“It is a great honor to be a finalist for this international award, and I hope that it brings greater attention to the potential for waste diversion, job creation, young adult training and mentoring, community building, and blight reduction made possible through deconstruction,” said Michael Gainer, Buffalo ReUse Executive Director.

The FT ULI Sustainable Cities Award recognizes innovative programs that address land use issues that are both environmentally conscious and globally relevant.

“Buffalo ReUse should serve as a model for other communities to reduce waste dumped in our landfills, to employ young adults from our inner city, and to work with community members to make neighborhoods greener, which is why I nominated the organization for this award,” said New York State Assemblymember Sam Hoyt.

The FT ULI Sustainable Cities Awards will be announced in London on June 16, 2008.

Buffalo ReUse is a not-for-profit organization committed to developing the practice of deconstruction to serve as a vehicle for job creation, building materials reclamation, and community development.

Special thanks to Sam Hoyt and Teresa Glanowski for nominating us for the award!

and . . . [drumroll please]

We just opened up a letter that announced Buffalo ReUse, Inc. is now an OFFICIALLY verified 501c3 organization with the federal government. My niece, Hadley, expresses our excitement best!

Buffalo ReUse is in good company for Artvoice ‘s Best Activist Group category–nominees! The awards ceremony for The Best of Buffalo contest is at Town Ballroom Monday, April 14, free to all, with lots of food and live music. 6-9pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900/townballroom.com). FREE

If you go to scream and cheer, maybe we’ll see you!
If we win, it’s all for the volunteers because we would not be this far along without all their help and commitment and their love for this city. You make it happen every time you show up–thanks. Our dedicated staff and board members also give generously of themselves every day–group hug?

(I’m also hoping that the Elmwood/Allen Bubble Guy wins for Unsung Hero because he certainly makes me smile no matter how ragged my day has been.)