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Buffalo ReUse

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Buffalo ReUse
Founded2006
FounderMichael Gainer
Type501(c)(3)
13-4355386
Focusgreen building
Location
Servicesdeconstruction
OwnerReUse Action
SubsidiariesEast Side Parkways Coalition
Rainbow House Community School
Websitewww.buffaloreuse.org

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.

History

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Founding and early success, 2006–2008

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Desiring to be closer to his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, Michael Gainer moved to Buffalo, New York from Boston, Massachusetts in 2005.[1] He had been working that summer for Northwest Youth Corps in Oregon, and chose Buffalo over Cleveland and Pittsburgh.[2] A Pennsylvania State University graduate in environmental and agricultural education, Gainer previously held teaching positions at the Chewonki Foundation and Vincent Smith School.[3]

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.[4][5] Instead of demolition, Buffalo ReUse would instead disassemble the properties and recycle their material.[4] 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.[6] Its headquarters opened on the East Side of Buffalo inside 298 Northampton, a former commercial laundry.[7][8]

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.[9]

Michael Gainer, June 2007

The New York Times Magazine recognized Gainer as one of their "Faces of Social Entrepreneurship" in March 2008.[10] 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.[11] 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.[5][12] Outside funding began supporting the organization, including a $650,000 Neighborhood Stabilization grant to start an apprenticeship program for residents without high school diplomas.[13]

Gainer's exit and relocation, 2009–2011

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After John R. Oishei Foundation president Robert Gioia threatened to withhold its grant from the organization, the Buffalo ReUse board of directors voted to remove Michael Gainer as their operations manager in August 2009.[14] Following public backlash, the organization's members voted to remove the board of directors in October 2009, and Gainer was reinstated.[15][16] However, Gainer failed to meet the new board's expectations, and he was once again removed in September 2010.[16] Since Gainer owned their building, the organization was forced to relocate its headquarters to a former bakery at 296 East Ferry.[17][18]

The organization abandoned deconstruction projects, and without Gainer's leadership was in heavy debt by 2011.[19]

ReUse Action and competing ventures, 2011–2021

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The Foundry during Buffalo Infringement Festival, July 2013

Michael Gainer founded ReUse Action in 2011, a for-profit deconstruction company specifically focused on providing apprenticeships.[20] Its headquarters opened on the East Side of Buffalo inside 980 Northampton, a former shoe factory.[21][22] The company was contracted in its first year to strip the Hotel Lafayette prior to its renovation, which provided jobs for twenty residents and led to several of them landing permanent careers.[23]

Former Buffalo ReUse employees Caesandra Seawell and Kevin Hayes joined Gainer in 2012 to form The Foundry, a nonprofit business incubator and makerspace.[24] Built inside the former Buffalo ReUse headquarters at 298 Northampton, The Foundry supports local entrepreneurs in their quest to develop products and business plans.[25]

SUNY ESF students successfully lobbied in 2013 for ReUse Action to handle deconstruction of several homes the school was planning on demolishing so that their material could be recycled for new builds on campus.[26]

Reacquisition and restructuring, 2022–present

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After Buffalo ReUse closed in 2022, Michael Gainer was appointed to their board of directors and acquired the organization's name and remaining assets, which were absorbed by ReUse Action.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Williams, Deidre (January 20, 2025). "Community activist Michael Gainer joins growing list of hopefuls for Buffalo mayor". The Buffalo News. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  2. ^ Koch, Peter (July 19, 2007). "Bringing Down the House". Artvoice.
  3. ^ "Buffalo ReUse: Buffalo ReUse People". buffaloreuse.org. January 30, 2010. Archived from the original on April 1, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "It's Easy Being Green: ReUsing Buildings in Buffalo". Center for American Progress. March 12, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Lockwood, Charles (2009). The Green Quotient: Insights from Leading Experts on Sustainability. Urban Land Institute. pp. 171–178. ISBN 9780874201215. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  6. ^ Smith, Joanne Huist (April 28, 2012). "Art and poetry to be featured at 'living cities' symposium". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  7. ^ Koch, Peter (March 8, 2008). "Q & A Michael Gainer, Buffalo ReUse". buffalospree.com. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  8. ^ "The Foundry". PRS. November 13, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  9. ^ "Q&A: Michael Gainer". Dwell. April 8, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  10. ^ "Faces of Social Entrepreneurship". The New York Times Magazine. March 9, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  11. ^ Kryszak, Joyce (June 3, 2008). "Buffalo ReUse Building Local and National Reputation". Buffalo Toronto Public Media. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  12. ^ "Great Lakes ReUse Conference in Buffalo: National Gathering on ReUse of Materials and Community Action!". Challenger Community News. NYS Historic Newspapers. November 12, 2008. p. 7. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  13. ^ Kryszak, Joyce (April 22, 2009). "Buffalo ReUse Growing and Getting Greener". Buffalo Toronto Public Media. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  14. ^ Sommer, Mark (August 25, 2009). "Board of Buffalo ReUse faces removal Founder's backers call special meeting". The Buffalo News. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  15. ^ Kryszak, Joyce (October 14, 2009). "Buffalo ReUse is Rebuilding its Leadership". Buffalo Toronto Public Media. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Kryszak, Joyce (September 16, 2010). "Buffalo ReUse founder fired again". Buffalo Toronto Public Media. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  17. ^ Nussbaumer, Newell (April 16, 2012). "Buffalo ReUse Moves Into Kaufman's Bakery Building". Buffalo Rising. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  18. ^ "Kaufman's Bakery / Buffalo ReUse". PRS. May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  19. ^ "A vision worth saving Neighborhoods can't afford to lose the good work by Buffalo ReUse". The Buffalo News. July 10, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  20. ^ "ReUse Action". Buffalo Rising. June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  21. ^ Nussbaumer, Newell (November 27, 2016). "Building Buffalo's Green Economy". Buffalo Rising. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  22. ^ "The Guild @980, 980 Northampton Street". PRS. January 6, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  23. ^ Christmann, Samantha (September 15, 2015). "ReUse in the Milk-Bone district". The Buffalo News. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  24. ^ Burke, Julia (December 13, 2012). "Building community through art and trade at The Foundry". buffalospree.com. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  25. ^ Glynn, Matt (September 20, 2019). "The Foundry: growing businesses with a creative touch". The Buffalo News. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  26. ^ Hazlitt, Shannon (January 14, 2013). "Waste not, want not: ESF students lead proposal to salvage houses". The Daily Orange. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  27. ^ "Buffalo ReUse Appoints New Board – Buffalo ReUse". Buffalo ReUse – community. jobs. resources. December 7, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
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