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Buffalo ReUse
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Buffalo ReUse
Buffalo ReUse is an American nonprofit organization in Buffalo, New York.
Founded by green advocate Michael Gainer as a deconstruction firm in 2006, it was committed to creating jobs on Buffalo's East Side while providing affordable building materials.
After Gainer left the organization in 2010, it faced a steep decline and was eventually reacquired by Gainer in 2022. The organization has since become the nonprofit arm of Gainer's for-profit deconstruction company, ReUse Action.
Desiring to be closer to his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, Michael Gainer moved to Buffalo, New York from Boston, Massachusetts in 2005. He had been working that summer for Northwest Youth Corps in Oregon, and chose Buffalo over Cleveland and Pittsburgh. A Pennsylvania State University graduate in environmental and agricultural education, Gainer previously held teaching positions at the Chewonki Foundation and Vincent Smith School.
Gainer founded the nonprofit deconstruction organization Buffalo ReUse in 2006 after the city announced plans to demolish 1,000 abandoned properties on an annual basis over the course of ten years. Instead of demolition, Buffalo ReUse would instead disassemble the properties and recycle their material. This led to reduced costs for the city, added jobs in the community, and the organization opening a retail store that sold salvaged material at low prices. Its headquarters opened on the East Side of Buffalo inside 298 Northampton, a former commercial laundry.
In an interview with Dwell, Gainer explained his motivation for starting the organization:
I started crunching the numbers, and the total resources involved, for a city already struggling with poverty, meant that $150 million would be spent simply on taking down old structures. I knew there had to be a better way.
The New York Times Magazine recognized Gainer as one of their "Faces of Social Entrepreneurship" in March 2008. That same year, Buffalo ReUse was profiled in an episode of Big Ideas for a Small Planet, and was nominated for the Urban Land Institute Sustainable Cities Award. Gainer organized the inaugural Great Lakes ReUse Conference in November 2008, which featured presentations from renowned community activists including Jay Williams, Rick Lowe and Tyree Guyton. Outside funding began supporting the organization, including a $650,000 Neighborhood Stabilization grant to start an apprenticeship program for residents without high school diplomas.
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Buffalo ReUse
Buffalo ReUse is an American nonprofit organization in Buffalo, New York.
Founded by green advocate Michael Gainer as a deconstruction firm in 2006, it was committed to creating jobs on Buffalo's East Side while providing affordable building materials.
After Gainer left the organization in 2010, it faced a steep decline and was eventually reacquired by Gainer in 2022. The organization has since become the nonprofit arm of Gainer's for-profit deconstruction company, ReUse Action.
Desiring to be closer to his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, Michael Gainer moved to Buffalo, New York from Boston, Massachusetts in 2005. He had been working that summer for Northwest Youth Corps in Oregon, and chose Buffalo over Cleveland and Pittsburgh. A Pennsylvania State University graduate in environmental and agricultural education, Gainer previously held teaching positions at the Chewonki Foundation and Vincent Smith School.
Gainer founded the nonprofit deconstruction organization Buffalo ReUse in 2006 after the city announced plans to demolish 1,000 abandoned properties on an annual basis over the course of ten years. Instead of demolition, Buffalo ReUse would instead disassemble the properties and recycle their material. This led to reduced costs for the city, added jobs in the community, and the organization opening a retail store that sold salvaged material at low prices. Its headquarters opened on the East Side of Buffalo inside 298 Northampton, a former commercial laundry.
In an interview with Dwell, Gainer explained his motivation for starting the organization:
I started crunching the numbers, and the total resources involved, for a city already struggling with poverty, meant that $150 million would be spent simply on taking down old structures. I knew there had to be a better way.
The New York Times Magazine recognized Gainer as one of their "Faces of Social Entrepreneurship" in March 2008. That same year, Buffalo ReUse was profiled in an episode of Big Ideas for a Small Planet, and was nominated for the Urban Land Institute Sustainable Cities Award. Gainer organized the inaugural Great Lakes ReUse Conference in November 2008, which featured presentations from renowned community activists including Jay Williams, Rick Lowe and Tyree Guyton. Outside funding began supporting the organization, including a $650,000 Neighborhood Stabilization grant to start an apprenticeship program for residents without high school diplomas.