Brush Up Buffalo a Swift Success
Brush Up Buffalo's volunteers beautified the Plymouth/Hudson Corridor with several gallons of new paint and fresh landscaping this past Saturday. According to Tony Astran, one of Brush Up's team development committee members, "This was the most ambitious effort we've made so far because some of the houses were massive."
The before and after of the "Spanish Olive" house pictured here underwent one of the most dramatic changes. It was white and peeling badly before the scraping, painting and landscaping began at 8 AM. Before noon, the 700 volunteers had fully painted 10 houses and painted the trim on 2 others in addition to landscaping and sweeping debris.
The event is held each year on the Saturday before Father's Day, and is a great way for companies, groups of friends and individuals to get involved in the neighborhoods. The improvements may seem merely cosmetic, but according to Astran, "It makes the homeowners feel so good, and that's where it's at.
For more information on Brush Up Buffalo's efforts as reported by Emmy Sykes, click here.
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coolrobc
Great project and it was a lot of fun. Thanks and congratulations to everyone else that participated!
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Jefferson
This is a great effort. But it looks like they tore off some siding on the house in the photo. Extra work for sure!
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coolrobc
Jefferson,
I think the before picture was taken before they finished removing all the siding. The houses we ready for scraping and painting when we arrived Saturday (at least the ones on Hudson were). According to the gentleman that owned the property my team was on said he had just removed 4 tons of asphalt siding in the weeks leading up to Saturday.
The improvement was drastic to say the least.
One of the nice things I noticed while we were doing this was a number of the houses that were not part of the project were being cleaned up and a few of the people were painting and doing some landscaping as well.
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sunnydayz
I worked on a house on Plymouth. The owner was sitting across the street watching us, almost with tears in her eyes, she was so excited. The street certainly got a lot more exciting with the advent of Salmon, yellow, purple, and the green and orange house shown here. Thank-you to the organizers it was a really well run event, and an amazing transformation.
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Edisonic
haha. God save us from the do-gooders, who tear off 50 year old siding in good shape to expose 120 year siding in BAD shape & slap some cheap, gawdy paint on it. Be sure to come back in 2 years when it's all peeling & the owner is suffering from higher gas bills because you removed the only sort of insulation, won't you? You won't.
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DMD
Edisonic=moronic Know the house, know the owner and you don't know crap. Thanks Brush Up Buffalo. You did a fantastic job in my neighborhood. Personally, I much prefer the"do-gooders" who put their money where their mouth is than some bitter, dried up idiot who thinks asphalt siding is the pinnacle of weatherization and style.
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Edisonic
Wrong, DMD. The "after" photo on this page = an utter botch job. You cannot properly repair, patch, and paint a house in one day, even with 900 volunteers. A "quick and dirty" paint job is worse than worthless.
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Edisonic
Oh, and nice personal attack on someone you don't even know, DMD. Nothing like keeping it civil, eh?
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Tony31280
Ed, it's hard for me to understand how you can be negative about a project so good. The photos aren't doctored. Also, have you walked down the stretch of Plymouth near Hudson? There's a real difference. Just ask the homeowners who live there.
Brush Up Buffalo is an all-volunteer organization. No one gets paid to do this every year... it's warm hearts of Western New Yorkers at their finest. You'd be amazed what 50 volunteers on one house can do in a matter of a few short hours. And sure, it's only one coat of paint, but it makes a real difference... plus, many of these homeowners are elderly or sick -- and wouldn't be able to do this on their own. They have to be pre-qualified before getting the help. FYI -- the house in the photo was one of the first in many years where we took off part of the siding. Normally, we just paint what's there, but we did this out of kindness, out of the homeowner's request.
Before complaining, try it for yourself... Brush Up Buffalo is every year on the Saturday before Father's Day. Hope you can make it next year. Thanks.
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Chief_Psychic
EDISONIC - I worked on this house! The owner was in the process of tearing off the siding to expose the original facade of the house (something that most BRO readers would appreciate), she chose the colours for the house and asked that it reflect a martini. One of the Brush Up Buffalo volunteers told us that they tried hard to find the right mix of colours to meet the home owner's desires.
If you have an issue with anyone, it is the homeowner. The best thing about this project is the trickle-down effect that it had on the neighbourhood. One of the neighbors told us that she hasn't seen so many of her neighbours out working on their houses in decades. There were a number of non-Brush Up houses that were being landscaped, painted, repaired, or cleaned-up that day. Brush Up Buffalo is a catalyst for community action, they made a difference! It is unfortunate that you are too near-sided and closed minded to see that.
Maybe in your world a demolition of the house and neighbourhood would be preferred. I am happy that we have people who care enough about their community to volunteer a beautiful Saturday morning to make a difference for these low-income home owners.
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jooliecoolie
what a great idea! i wish i had known about this sooner. it's really heartwarming to hear about the direct results this had on the neighbors who were not even part of the project.
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DMD
Edisonic. Civility is also something you greatly lack in as well, since you have no courtesy or politeness for the people that put time and energy into projects that greatly benefit personal homeowners and the neighbors around them. I have seen how far this block has come in the past years and it was a blessing that Brush Up Buffalo chose these homes. It is only just one more step forward in making this area a more vibrant block. Also this homeowner (someone YOU don't know but was willing to pass judgement on too) does not have the income to sink thousands of dollars into high tech siding or weatherization, but the removal of the asphalt allowed him to see problems that were hidden by the inferior siding and he is preparing to fix as much as he can by winter.
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sbrof
I love this project, I have volunteered in the past buf didn't have the time this year. It really does help the neighborhood residents feel better about their homes and inspire those that can to make an effort on their own homes. Someone has to start the process of renovation and investment and no one individual wants that kind of risk. This is a perfect neighborhood in transition and i can only see benefits from this project on the street and blocks around it in the future.
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hippiegrrl
i have to say that this is one of the best volunteer efforts that happens in the city all year. tons of people come out and the homeowners are consulted a week or two prior to the day of the event to get exact information about colours and changes they want made to the home. this isn't a fly-by-night organization that swoops in and out without consulting anyone.
we have a great time every year and we feel a sense of great accomplishment at the end of the day. if you see the homes in person you get a greater sense of the difference it makes in the neighbourhood. our house was on whitney this year (the only house on that block chosen) so we didn't get much coverage, but we still felt happy at the end of the day to be able to help this homeowner get a great new look to the exteriour of her property.
the hope is that it spurs the rest of the neighbourhood in an upward swing. since i live on the west side i'll be driving by to check it out occasionally.
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Edisonic
Yes, DMD, you of course are the only one who is "civil", but you've "spent a huge chunk of change restoring a fantastic house in Allentown!" , haven't you? Good for freaking little yuppie you & your cash - no doubt it is safe (hey, guess what? I moved AWAY from Allentown's bag ladies & drug pigs 20 years ago! Smart you!) Some of us have always lived here, and are watching our lifetime investments dissolve as druggie scum destroy our unrealistic hopes that Buffalo won't die.
Sloppy, cheapo paint jobs inflicted on the least of us will not help - and true charity is not announced in the news. Showing terrible jobs on the news certainly does nobody any favors. I doubt this olive green mess would even pass a City Housing inspection; can you say "broken, missing siding"? Self-righteous Honkies can check off their "helped the poor" box, but not everyone is fooled.
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Tony31280
Okay, Edisonic... so would you rather Brush Up Bufalo not paint any houses?
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