Friday morning, November 13, 2009 Buffalo ReUse will be begin Green Demolition and salvage of another west side property at 369 Normal Ave.  The house is already slated for demolition.  “It made sense to go ahead and continue with further improvements to the street since the rest of the block is getting a facelift.  The neighborhood is getting a real morale boost,” said Michael Gainer, Founder and Director of Programs, at Buffalo ReUse.  “All of Buffalo should be proud that there will be such a huge spotlight on the City, the grassroots efforts and the generosity that has resulted from this opportunity.

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.

ABC’s hit show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” is coming to the Queen City! This exciting opportunity brings with it the chance to use the momentum gained by the national spotlight to fuel the revitalization of an entire neighborhood in the matter of days. You have the opportunity to improve not only one family’s life, but the entire surrounding community. This will be a great chance to show that Buffalo really is the City of Good Neighbors.

David Homes  is designing and building an environmentally friendly home starting November 7th and lasting for one week. To sign up as a helping hand, go to http://www.davidhomesextreme.com/. They will need help with Food, Non-Skilled Construction Labor, Check-In, Media, Hospitality, Parking, Trash, Traffic, Barricades, Loading and much more. Join the Buffalo ReUse staff in this unique service experience!

Last night, October 19, Buffalo ReUse Board President Vince Kuntz talked to Michael Gainer about taking the position of Program Director for Buffalo ReUse. He accepted the position and we look forward to future.

The responsibilities of the position of Program Director were agreed by the Board and are as follows:

Program Director, Buffalo ReUse:

• Provides monthly deconstruction and salvage report, and program status. This is to include what jobs have been completed, in-progress, signed and prospects. All jobs discussed are to include estimated costs and revenue expected.
• Directs field operations for deconstruction and salvage activities.
• Coordinates subcontracted services such as utility cuts, asbestos surveys, abatements, excavators and other as needed.
• Follows up on job leads, responsible for job estimates and providing estimates for financial review prior to contract execution.
• Directs staff training of deconstruction and salvage activities.
• Coordinate safety and environmental compliance training for staff members.
• Pursue funding opportunities.
• Instrumental in strategic development and implementation of existing and future community programs. Member of the Strategic Community Development Committee.

Michael’s effective hire date is 10/19/09.

Our friend and mentor David Bennink sends us this message:

I have been working for the City of Chicago to develop the Nation’s largest building deconstruction training program and I am happy to say that we will soon choose a recipient and get started.

It will be a complex effort for many reasons, not the least of which is that we cannot work on any residential properties due to restrictions from the funding source.

My hope for the program is that for the next 2.5 years, we will infuse a lot of salvaged building materials, capital, and ‘free’ labor into operations around the Chicago area thus strengthening the reuse industry. We also hope to provide the area many qualified individuals that have gone through the training program and are ‘job-ready’.

On other fronts, RE-USE Consulting has taken down all of its last 17 homes in 5 days or less while mainly working with trainees. We experimented with a 1 day home where a 1250 sq ft building was partially deconstructed and the remaining parts demolished. We added our 34th State and are only a couple structures away from deconstructing our 500th building.

In general, it is good to see programs like that in Chicago help build up our industry. Have hope and know that we are closing in on making deconstruction time and cost competitive with demolition and look forward to the day when deconstruction is the mainstream choice for building removal.

Michael was interviewed by Great Lakes Urban Exchange, talking about green demolition/deconstruction.A good explanation of what we’re trying to do in Buffalo.

Jeremy Royce, traveling the country in a borrowed van and sleeping on top of his video equipment, released his video about Buffalo ReUse (among other things) on YouTube.

Looks like Michael’s shower was broke, or he was using Drano for shampoo . . . but we think it’s a cool short film, and Jeremy’s to be commended for his relentlessly positive endeavor.

Jeremy’s Exit Pictures is here. His YouTube site is here.

Micki, one of our Green Space Coordinators just alerted us to the fact that Majora Carter will be in Toronto this Friday!  I have been wanting to share her with you guys for awhile and intended to do it this month as part of featuring WOMEN WITH GREEN HEART for Women’s History Month and so it fits perfectly!  You may have seen Majora on cable TV recently because her story is one the natural foods snack company, True North, has selected.  She is an activist for greening the South Bronx with tree plantings, parks and training folks in green collar jobs.  Majora is a role model for other women who are also dedicated to improving quality of life and creating community.  Her sincerity and passion for her community is undeniable.  Majora shares the continual struggles of morale, poverty and safety that she faced growing up in the ghetto and that young people in the South Bronx still overcome every day.  Majora was formerly director of Sustainable South Bronx which has multiple green projects–from cycling to cleaning up polluted lots.  Their programs provide tangible goals and hope for the neighbors.

Micki wants to get to Toronto and see Majora–because we tried to get her here back in November and she was already booked.  Majora is the keynote speaker for Greening the Neighbourhood.. and how much it won’t cost us
followed by panel with Joe Pantalone, Ben Powless, Blake Poland, & Eric Miller
Friday March 13, 2009, noon-2pm @ UofT’s Hart House
If you’re interested in carpooling, please get in touch with Micki at greenspaces {at} buffaloreuse(.)org or meet her at Sweetness 7 at 10am–she’s a petite, curly haired cyclist.

BUILDING MATERIAL REUSE
ALTERNATIVES EXIST!
Disposal of ReUsable Materials is no longer an option!

I don’t talk much about the fellowship Buffalo ReUse was awarded from the Echoing Green Foundation in 2007, but I have tremendous respect for the mission of Echoing Green in supporting cutting edge ideas, social innovators, and entrepreneurship (www.echoinggreen.org). This foundation is cutting edge because they support risk takers, efforts committed to action and outcomes, and innovations that have the potential to create positive change.

Echoing Green is taking the lead in supporting a paradigm shift in how not for profits can be structured and sustained in the future. Social ventures conduct business in a thoughtful and meaningful way, responding to critical community and social needs, while also generating revenue to fund programmatic goals and operational expenses. It has long been the priority of Buffalo ReUse to strive for long term financial sustainability through a viable earned income model. This model has immense potential, but we need your help!

Our primary service, green demolition, depends largely on developers, builders, government, and homeowners being aware that alternatives exist. They need to know there are options to demolition that protect the environment, support local hiring and training, and save them money. Over the next few months, we’ll focus our marketing and media efforts to communicate the benefits of this service. When buildings are being taken down, we want ReUse to be at the table.

Material reclamation and salvage is a second service that helps residents, builders, retailers, and demolition contractors divert material from the landfill (and save money at the same time). In the coming months we will all witness tons of materials placed street side for bulk trash pickups. Rehabilitation projects will result in tons of reusable materials being senselessly tossed into dumpsters and carted to landfills. Scratch and dent and surplus materials are often discarded because they take up valuable retail space and because low disposal rates offer a quick and efficient solution.
We can’t continue on the course of rampant consumption and disposal; materials must be reclaimed and reused. The acquisition of these materials creates a supply of low cost materials for folks in the neighborhood supporting rehabilitation and repairs.

The ReSOURCE, our low cost building supply store and education destination, offers unique materials, low cost materials, and architectural elements for architects, artists, homeowners, landlords, contractors, developers, and builders. The revenues we generate support our neighborhood development efforts and help us grow and maintain the space. Volunteers and interns play a huge part in growing and developing the store to facilitate sales and educate our customers about the use and reuse of reclaimed materials.

We need to expand these services. Community awareness, marketing, targeted outreach, and media networking are critical components in casting the net so more folks know that alternatives exist.

The Vision:  To achieve long term financial self sustainability through the expansion of our services, the acquisition of materials, the development of new markets for reused materials, and the growth of sales at the ReSource.

The NEEDS:

• Marketing Experts and Strategic Planners who can assist in the development of a plan for expanding our services in the region.
• Graphic designers who can create new print materials for targeted mailings, posters, leaflets, etc which engage the public visually.
• Social networking to expand our existing presence on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and on our Blog.
• Website Developers to create new designs and approaches to market our services at www.buffaloreuse.org.
• Database designers and data entry support – it’s critical for us to organize our contacts and supporters and maintain a list of current clients and potential clients.
• Media Consultants to support media outreach and networking to get information about our services out to the community.
• Special Events Planners to plan, coordinate, and facilitate special events that spread awareness of our mission and purpose.
• Videographers, musicians, and photographers who can develop and distribute through a variety of media a clear picture of the scope of our services.

The STEPS to get involved:

• Send an email to volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org with a description of your ideas and interests, including your contact information.
• Attend planning, sessions, brainstorms, and events where the planning and implementation for these ideas will begin and take place.  We’ll inform you of sessions relevant to your interests.

Implementation: Michael Gainer and Caesandra Seawell are coordinating the effort to expand demand for our services. Stay tuned for upcoming organizing meetings.

Onward,

Michael and the ReUse Gang

Did you know that Buffalo has the 2nd highest heating bills of any city in the country??

This doesn’t have to be!  Our old homes can be upgraded to improve their energy-efficiency and reduce heating costs, but we must first identify what the problems are and how they can be fixed.  A professional technician will be joining us at 153 Eaton this Saturday, February 21st, at 3pm to do just that, by conducting an energy audit, and we are psyched to invite you over for the demonstration.

The auditing demonstration should last about an hour, and will be followed up with some great info about how to finance upgrades to reduce those heating bills, as well as plenty of time for questions.  Please invite your friends and family to join us!

Warmly,
Whitney
buffalobasics {at} gmail(.)com

You’re probably not surprised by Buffalo ReUse’s commitment to the environment, after all, we RECYCLE and REUSE houses. We have created an economic model to reclaim materials that would have otherwise been senselessly dumped in our landfill. Every ton of material we divert from the landfill represents a marked decline in the demand for virgin materials harvested from our forests, transported thousands of miles, and manufactured. This process is both energy intensive and environmentally destructive. By purchasing a locally reclaimed product you are making a conscientious decision to protect our environment, while also incorporating unique building elements into your rehabilitation or art project. Mother Nature is smiling!

At the ReSource, located at 298 Northampton Street, we want to inform and model other ways that folks can reduce their energy consumption, save money, AND protect the planet. In 2009, we intend to generate power from photovoltaic solar panels; collect rainwater for gardens; begin running our fleet on biodiesel; and install a green roof and rain gardens to decrease runoff and protect our water supply. In addition, we intend for the ReSource to be a destination for community engagement and education. It will be a  place where folks can bring their friends and family to learn about Buffalo’s unique architectural history; celebrate the history of this region and discuss with others various ideas for making home improvements with an emphasis on style and character.

Researchers…to investigate technology that is applicable to our current uses at the ReSource and that enables energy independence within two years.
• Technicians…to take the lead and assist on the installation of solar panels for energy creation; manufacturing of biodiesel for fleet use; design of infrastructure for rain water collection and gray water reuse; design and installation of green roofs/green gardens/rain gardens; and to advise and develop other technologies to assist with conservation and wise use of resources.
Educators and Trainers…to share their wisdom and expertise with others, through workshops and trainings.
• Artists, designers, and interpreters…to build educational exhibits at the resource and to expand our presence on the web.
Manufacturers and Engineers willing to donate time, expertise, infrastructure, supplies, and materials
Grant researchers/writers…to identify potential sources of local, state, and national funding from public and private sources for energy conservation, education, etc.

The STEPS to get involved:

• Send an email to volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org with a description of your ideas and interests, including your contact information.
• Attend planning, sessions, brainstorms, and events where the planning and implementation for these ideas will begin and take place.  We will inform you of sessions relevant to your interests.
• Invite those other community orgs you love to come and collab with us and share themselves with our neighbors at our Earth Warming Party/OPEN HOUSE, Saturday April 25th!
  
• Start sketching and experimenting; bring us your mockettes and mashed potato models!

Implementation: Kevin Hayes, Peter Riphahn, Ian MacDonald and Caesandra are leading the charge to develop the ReSource as a Destination for community engagement and environmental stewardship. Projects will be on-going throughout the year and implemented primarily with the initiation, energy, and expertise of committed volunteers like you.

Stay Tuned…for our final edition of TIME and TALENT:  Part 4…”there’s so much to do, these things are just a few”!

Onward,
Michael and the ReUse Gang