Deconstructing Buffalo - House by House...

While chatting with Michael Gainer yesterday he gave me the heads-up about the feature piece in this week's Artvoice. Really amazing level of activity here in Bringing Down the House.

Michael Gainer doesn’t sleep, he waits…and thinks. He’s simply too busy to sleep, and besides, recently he’s got a whole lot to think about—soliciting foundations, screening employment applications, honing his business plan, getting various permits from the city, networking with related organizations and...read the rest...

From a recent press conference...

Been a huge fan of what I've called deconstructing Buffalo for years. First wrote about it in June, 2005 - DeConstructing Buffalo and Part II from last September.

Also visited ReNew last winter in Brattleboro, VT see - ReNewing Buffalo. I remember tipping Michael off to the spot, he found time to visit the place a few days later. Recently Michael and the gang had a press event at the Central Terminal, was the only blogger there - see the post.

Love what Michael has to say about the ever increasingly expanding urban prairie...

“There’s a little dead end street, and there are train tracks back here,” he says, indicating an abandoned right-of-way. He says there are only three houses on the street, the final one completely abandoned. “I wrote the property down, because I want to live there!” he says, his eyes lighting up. It’s buffered from a major road by a big warehouse directly in front of it, and a huge cemetery stretches into the distance behind the house. Next to it, away from the other houses, “this whole corner is a big field with three enormous trees, and it’s quiet back there. You could just…live on the urban prairie,” he finishes, his voice rising in a pseudo-Midwestern timbre.

I've been keeping tabs on the warehouse next to the Washington Market and catch up with the crew on occasion during lunch time. Make time soon some Sunday to check it out...amazing finds!

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