Once in a while the ReSource staff will get a comment that goes like this “Twenty dollars for that? But youse guys (we’re in Buffalo) get it for free and I could get it at the home center for fifteen bucks!” Haggling, although officially discouraged, seems to be unavoidable. But that comment has a few elements that get directly to the heart of the ReUse and its mission.

First, “stuff” at the ReSource is priced on average at 50% of a new or similar item, with adjustments up or down for uniqueness or condition. The reference process come from hardware catalogs (e.g. Lee Valley, Rejuvenation, Van Dyke’s Restorers, Rocklers, etc.), business people (antique dealers, contractors, lumber yards, etc.) and prices of similar items in local stores, lumber yards, and online.

However, the “stuff” the ReUse collects is actually not free. The ReUse is not a passive filter that simply collects items, nor is it an illegal operation that scouts around for vacant buildings and simply helps itself to the contents. Unfortunately people probably associate the ReUse with scrappers who do steal metal and architectural salvage. I’ll address this a bit further down.

Born from and rooted in our community

The ReUse has a 501c3, not-for-profit designation so that money made from its sales is invested directly back into the organization to fund its missions, broadly described here – creating local, self-sustaining economies, job training and personal growth, especially for youths, neighborhood outreach and rebuilding efforts. Please see the webpage for more details and how ReUse is succeeding.
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Sales of used building materials at our ReSOURCE are a big part of our earned income. This past Saturday, we allocated 25% of all sales directly to the Neighborhood Peace Mural Project, to buy sheet goods and screws (we have lots of paint from generous donors–but we’ll still accept your used house paint because we need it for next weeks deliveries too).

Our sales of $700 means we have $175 to buy materials for the Project. Thanks to everyone who came by and took something home with them!

We’ll be doing the same this coming Saturday – please stop by between 10 and 4 and see what we have in the store.

If you’d like to make a cash donation, please visit our donation page.

—Kevin Hayes

From our WNY Media friend Chris Smith (“Buffalo Geek”):

My Buffalonian of The Year award goes to Michael Gainer of Buffalo ReUse, not sure if his inclusion in this list of rants is a good or bad thing for him. However, each time I get the opportunity to catch up with Michael, I am impressed by his enthusiasm, energy, leadership skills, and results driven organization. He leads a talented group of volunteers who are bound and determined to take the communal liability of vacant properties and turn them into a model for job training, community pride, leadership development, and sustainable reuse. He stays out of the politics and focuses on results. However you can, please support their mission with a tax deductible donation, purchase of building materials at their new showroom, or volunteering your time.

Thanks for the mention, Chris! Of course, it’s not like Mike needs more attention, being Buffalo ReUse’s official Cover Boy (I think he has another title, Executive something or other . . .).

We’d love for anyone out there reading this to support our mission in the ways Chris suggests. We accept online cash donations at www.BuffaloReUse.org/Donate, accept donations of used building materials either dropped off at our ReSource at 298 Northampton or we’ll pick up (just call 885-4131). And we’re glad to help any building project you might have by providing you with low-cost reused materials – our store at 298 Northampton Street is open every Saturday from 10 to 4. We’re most excited by new volunteers – check out our volunteer page at www.BuffaloReUse.org/Volunteer.

Most of my friends know how much I love to travel; I hate to move, but I love to pack a suitcase and head for some place I’ve never seen before. There was a 10yr stretch of my life that I lived overseas, because of my experience with the military. I came back to the States a handful of visits during that period–and I got culture shock every time. When you live in a foreign country, especially one that doesn’t write in a roman alphabet, you get used to not reading storefronts or advertising or any other signage. Each time I returned stateside, I was bombarded with information from billboards, restaurant signs, car lots, and huge corporate complexes made of glass and concrete. Suddenly, I could interpret everything that consumer culture threw at me and I didn’t know how to shut it off—except to drive with my eyes closed!

The first time I came to Dallas, I was here for a week and had diarrhea the whole time. I’m not exactly sure why, but I guessed it was because I’d gotten so used to Japanese food and that eating a week of fast food, BBQ and chicken fried steak had shocked my insides. Now I’m in Dallas for a wedding and I’m experiencing diarrhea of a different sort. My insides are churning because of all the “civilization” here.

Technically, this is Addison, which is an upscale suburb of Dallas. Each neighborhood is surrounded by tall, stone/brick fence, which shields them from the endless rows of strip malls. There is an overwhelming sensation of consumerism here, because everything here is franchise food, chain bars, and box stores, sitting in the middle of big parking lots.

Maybe my expectations are too high; this is “Ewing territory” afterall : ) The wealth of oil put this city on the map and the TV show established an attitude–an image–they have upheld. Can we be mad at something that it is doing what is its nature?

There’s nothing in Addison like the charm of Buffalo. In Buffalo, you can stroll along and grab an ice cream or window shop or people watch. There are no “dives” or mom-n-pops. There’s no character or unique qualities in Addison—it looks exactly like every other ‘burb I’ve seen throughout the States. This town epitomizes everything I fear some people in Buffalo aspire to. I want to get back home soon; I want to get back to Buffalo.
–Caesandra

Peter Koch writes in Artvoice about other cities’ tool lending libraries. This is an idea we’ve been kicking around at Buffalo ReUse, and we expect to get a start on some type of community tool resource over the coming winter. We’ll let you know when we have a clearer idea what it will look like.

—Kevin Hayes

Jim Heaney, in the Buffalo News, says:

Fresh water and cheap power. Lots of regions would kill for them. Western New York has them.

And if the region plays its cards right, experts say, Buffalo Niagara can use them to ride the coming economic wave.

At Buffalo ReUse, we agree. Our focus will be on the most local level, helping our fellow citizens improve the greenspace in the city. We’re also convinced micro-businesses and increased livability on inner-city blocks will only improve the chances for an economic recovery in Buffalo.

— Kevin Hayes

From today’s Buffalo News some Federal action:

Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, has introduced legislation establishing a housing demolition grant program aimed at vacant, dilapidated housing, his office announced. The Neighborhood Reclamation and Revitalization Act of 2007 would help pave the way for development and neighborhood revitalization, Higgins said in a statement. It would also give municipalities the opportunity to study how to better use vacant land.

And some State action:

About 1,400 properties that have languished since their tax liens were purchased by a state agency in 2003 are being returned to the City of Buffalo.

This will allow the city to include them in its application to a state program that provides money to municipalities for demolition or rehabilitation.

We’re glad to see rehabilitation and neighborhood revitalization mentioned in these announcements. We spend most of our time at Buffalo ReUse taking buildings down, but we’re not in favor of unneeded demolition or deconstruction. When the federal and state governments allocate money for rehabilitation, it gives Buffalo residents all over the city an opportunity to return a house to the tax rolls and removes yet another abandoned structure from their neighborhood.

From the beginning of our project, we’ve proposed and implemented creative ways to deal with the challenge of a shrinking city and a surplus of houses. Kudos to Congressman Higgins and state government for helping to fund ideas and efforts that treat the “problem” like an opportunity.

—Kevin Hayes