By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – The nation saw Buffalo in a positive spotlight for a change when ABC television aired the Extreme Home Makeover featuring Buffalo. But local volunteers say, even though the spotlight is gone, their work continues.
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Leaders of the volunteer groups say they are busier than ever since the united effort to makeover an entire west side neighborhood. They said that is because Buffalo still has plenty of neighborhoods in need. Mark Lazzara is chief executive officer for Western New York Americorps. He said next they are headed to the east side. Lazarra said they will do repairs to all the homes on two streets near the Response to Love Center.
He said they are getting a lot of help from many of the same private donors and partners that helped with the Massachusetts Street extreme makeover.
Michael Gainer is founder of Buffalo ReUse on the seat side, one of the organizations that made that project a success. He said local interest in green demolition and rebuilding communities has increased tremendously since the project, keeping thwem busier than ever. And he said they are ready to help other communities get started too.
Gainer said they have revamped their web site and server to accomodate the expected influx of inquiries following the national premiere of the Buffalo Extreme Home Makeover.
Buffalo ReUse is not the only organization that had to bolster its organization to meet increased demands. Lazzara said that WNY Americorps youth corps grew from 20 members to full capacity at 160 members. And he said they had to hire more staff to train them in construction skills, because of the increased focus on home rehabilitation.
The workers will need those skills. David Stapleton of David Homes, the builder on the Extreme Makeover project, said he plans another extreme makeover project somewhere in Buffalo this summer. He said there will not be any TV cameras. But Lazarra said that does not matter.
He said knowing what they are capable of accomplishing is all the motivation they need.
Lazarra said all the future projects might not be "extreme," but he said they are all committed to making over Buffalo - even if they have to do it one broken window at a time.