PUSH Green WNY

How Green Works For Me: Meet Johnnie

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:47:00 -0500

Who’s Johnnie you said? We’ll if you’re talking about Johnnie Fenderson – of PUSH Green (PG), then he’s your Workforce Development Organizer.

Johnnie grew up in Mobile Alabama, this state’s 3rd largest city. Growing up there, Johnnie wasn’t a stranger to hard work, and the plight of the regular working American. Mobile has sizable fishing, shipping, docking, steel working, and ship making industries. He moved to Buffalo in 2003 where some members of his family migrated to previous years earlier.

Johnnie who spent some time in the US Army (working with the MP, or the Military Police) said that the army prepared him for his current role. “You have to have leadership qualities in the military to become a leader, and you have to have leadership qualities in organizing, you have to be organized”. In his last few years in service, he served as a Community Police NCOIC. In this capacity he worked hands on with social, and crime prevention programs within the community he was stationed at. This included supervising a group of youth doing neighborhood patrols, and being the first line of contact for soldiers who were struggling financially. “It was fun, I got run and gun, and interact with kids, …………….but most importantly, I got to build leadership qualities, and look for leadership qualities in other people” he says.

What many may know up to this point is that PG is involved in Energy Efficiency, or EE. What may be new information to some folks is that PG works to create living wage working opportunities for people in the neighborhood (Western New York). This is where the majority of Johnnie’s focus is when he’s doing his job. He works to recruit potential weatherization workers into LIUNA Local 161 (Laborer’s International Union of North America). Through this union Johnnie works to find opportunities for local workers on EE projects. “My focus is to connect people to placement opportunities to get them up to speed, and get them trained” he said.

As PG outreach people like Alex, Lin, and Rachelle (you’ll meet her in our next post) do their jobs – creating money saving EE opportunities for local home owners/renters, people like Johnnie work hard on the back end to make available more local living wage working opportunities for Western New Yorkers who desperately need them.

He loves working with his hands, with people, and creating living wage job opportunities for an area that needs it. He’s Johnnie Fenderson, he’s your Workforce Development Organizer, and he wants to meet you!

#staygreen and #LIVEBetter friends!

How Green Works For Me: Meet Alex

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:20:52 -0500

So proving that PUSH Green (PG) is a family thing, meaning that we are a team of individuals working towards the same goal, but with different perspectives, we caught up with Community Energy Advocate Alex Kuttesch. Alex gave us a few minutes of his time to discuss why the work that we do is worthwhile.

Like Lin, his job is to connect with Western New Yorkers and get them involved with PG. For those who don’t know Buffalo, and Western New York has some of the coldest winters on record. Home weatherization, and energy efficiency (EE) are a must. “We are doing a good thing, a pretty progressive thing for Western New York, and you know we need it, we need the work that we’re doing” says Alex.

In Alex’s opinion community outreach on the West side of Buffalo differs from that in other parts of Erie County in that programing metrics plays a large role. So, for example there is a new WAP funded program being implemented by PUSH Buffalo and PG. It was designed to help people who are HEAP eligible (more on this in a later post). This program would make sense for a demographic such as the West side, a primarily lower income neighborhood. On the other hand, On Bill Recovery, or On Bill Financing “is a way to pay for your home upgrade where your utility bill is attached to your loan payment. You (the home owner) pay for your (energy) upgrade with the savings that you keep. When they (the home owner) see how much they save, and they see how much they spend on it” they know that the program works for them says Alex. And, this program, because of funding guidelines, would make sense for homeowners who are not HEAP eligible.

Based on demographics not all pocketbooks are created equal, and so the EE solution isn’t easy. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try though.

Alex is a Western New York native who fittingly graduated from SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry which is located in Syracuse NY. He’s young, bright, at home, and committed to changing the game - the EE game that is. And, he wants to meet you!

To learn more about how Push Green can work for you give Alex and the gang a call today @ 716.886.1780.

#staygreen and #LIVEBetter friends!

Friends and Neighbors for Sustainability

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:17:00 -0500

For those who missed the piece on our Friends and Neighbors program on Buffalo Rising here is a link to the post.

Acumen Insulation & Coatings Takes On Spray Foam Business

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 14:22:19 -0500

Read story here

How Green Works For Me: Meet Lin

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 14:16:00 -0500

What many in the community do not know is that PUSH Buffalo is now a certified organization through NYSERDA for new money, and energy saving programs available to a host of New York State residents.

PUSH Green is a manifestation of these past few years of sustainability advocacy on our part.

PUSH Green is the energy efficiency (EE) arm of PUSH Buffalo. We’ve been given initiative from State officials to actively engage in (and lead in) the energy efficiency reform process. This reform process includes expanding EE to different areas of Western New York.

Lin (or Ba Zan Lin) is a Community Energy Advocate with PUSH Green. His job is to go out into various communities within Western New York and get them involved with PUSH Green EE programs.

Lin and his family are originally from Burma, and various members of his family have immigrated to the United States over the past 15 years. Coming from a tropical environment to a cold one here helped Lin value the concept of EE. EE is important to him because “growing up with my mom sick….we had a tough time keeping up with the bills”.

PUSH Green “focuses on organizing around EE work in Western New York” says Lin. Through PUSH Green programs like the Friends & Neighbors Program “neighbors get together to share stories, self-interest, and share values” he says. States Lin “When we bundle 5 or more people you get more people to save money on their dollars, and you build community”.

Lin is a graduate of the University at Buffalo, who’s bringing new, fresh, and young energy to the Buffalo area. He’s doing important work, he’s your Community Energy Advocate, and he wants to see you! To find out more about the Friends & Neighbors or other PUSH Green programs, and how they can help you contact us at 716.886.1780.

#staygreen and #LIVEBetter friends!

We’ve had a rough couple of days, but we’ve...

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:29:00 -0400

We’ve had a rough couple of days, but we’ve survived. The PUSH Green Team wishes everyone a sustainable, fun, and safe Halloween!

The PUSH Green Friends & Neighbors Program & Marc Hunt

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:45:00 -0400

On Friday, October 19, the PUSH Green staff were joined by friends, neighbors, homeowners, contractors, workers, and community leaders. City of Buffalo Delaware District Council member Mike LoCurto, Erie County Legislator Lynn Marinelli, and Tonawanda Supervisor Anthony Caruana were also on hand. We gathered at the home of PUSH Green “Friends and Neighbors” participant Marc Hunt. We came on the last day of Marc’s energy efficiency installation, to hear from everyone who participated in the process, and learn about the experience.

Our new partner, Delaware District Council member LoCurto, announced his excitement to have PUSH Green in his district. “Far too often, middle class families fall through the cracks when it comes to finding programs to help them with ever-increasing energy costs,” said Council member Michael LoCurto. “PUSH Green helps to fill that gap, and stays to help homeowners every step of the way. I am so pleased that we will be able to have them work with my constituents in North Buffalo“.

Homeowner Marc Hunt had insulation put in to his attic and walls. “I knew my home wasn’t insulated, and when I was on the second floor, I could feel the cold air from the attic. It’s only been a day but already I think I can tell a difference,” he reported. As a member of the Friends and Neighbors bundle, Marc received additional discounts off the total cost of his work, and turned to his PUSH Green Community Energy Advocate, Alex Kuttesch, when he needed support through the process.

Hunt will be paying back his work through NY State’s On Bill Recovery, which lets him make convenient payments right through his utility bill. “It really is so easy”, he said. PUSH Green was able to explain all parts of the program and help him create a work plan that was right for him.

The contractors who do energy efficiency work within PUSH Green are accredited by the Building Performance Institute, and use a “whole house” perspective to evaluate your home’s efficiencies. “Why wait until you have an emergency such as a broken furnace, and address issues piece-by-piece?” asked PUSH Green Friends and Neighbors Contractor Brian Paterson of New Buffalo Impact. By examining how every part of your home works together, the Friends and Neighbors contractors create plans that are the healthiest, and most cost-effective for your home.

Finally, PUSH Green Friends and Neighbors contractors do right by their workers and the community. They agree to pay family sustaining wages with benefits, and hire local workers. On Friday, we heard from Ken Robinson, who had recently been hired by New Buffalo Impact, thanks to the collective work of the PUSH Green team. He has gone from “kitchens to crawlspaces” and couldn’t be happier about his new transition. Robinson has received dozens of hours of training and is excited to have a new career in which he helps WNY become a leader in energy efficiency.

PUSH Green is so excited to expand our program to the rest of the Town of Tonawanda, and North Buffalo. We know that great stories, like those of Marc Hunt and Ken Robinson, will continue to multiply. For more information go to www.pushgreenwny.org or call (716) 886-1780.

Need a Job? PUSH Green Wants You!

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 17:14:00 -0400

· Do you want to increase your opportunity for employment?
· Do you want to make your community more energy efficient?
· Are you an experienced and/or trained construction worker?
· Maybe you have no experience in construction?
· Do you want to become a certified Green and Healthy Homes worker?

Then the time to act is now!

PUSH Buffalo and, PUSH Green want you! It breaks down like this: A statewide coalition that PUSH Buffalo helped lead (Green Jobs, Green New York, GJGNY) wins a big victory in 2009, and then another in 2011. These victories are two different, but important bills that got passed in Albany. PUSH Green is then created to connect homeowners to energy efficiency, and to connect workers to energy efficiency jobs.

We have a free weatherization community training that we have a few spaces for. This training is in response to our federally funded Weatherization Assistance Program, or WAP special project. This means that we have funding to weatherize approximately 90-100 homes in the city of Buffalo. This training potentially connects community members to this work.

We have a few spaces remaining in our free weatherization community training, but time is running out. Anyone that’s interested in this potential opportunity should call 716-884-0356. You can also stop by the PUSH Buffalo office at 271 Grant St in Buffalo.

Uh-oh…looks like our PUSH Green team has an arch nemesis...

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:44:00 -0400

Uh-oh…looks like our PUSH Green team has an arch nemesis on the rise. And his name? Gene Vashing. Mr. Vashing is a proud, overly compensated representative for Coal, Oil and Gas America (COG America). His mission in life? To stop #COGBlockers, like us and our PUSH Green team, who believe in working to improve our communities through energy efficiency.

Vashing believes that people should not be getting paid to weatherize (or upgrade) your homes. After all, “If we are trying to convene with nature, why fight to keep weather out?”

Looks like Mr. Vashing is working pretty hard to NOT save you or your friends and neighbors any money on your energy bills!

It’s Gene Vashing vs. the #COGBlockers!

Whose side are you on?

#staygreen #livebetterbuffalo

WBEN 930AM's "Hammertime with Domenic Cortese" Welcomes Back Erie County's New Energy Efficiency Program, PUSH Green

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:43:00 -0400

PUSH Green friends, did you know that our awesome PUSH Green Community Energy Advocate, Alex Kuttesch, PUSH Green Program Manager, Kate Howard, and PUSH Green Friends and Neighbor participant (and Kenmore homeowner), Ryan McCarthy, were on “Hamertime with Domenic Cortese” Saturday?

Well, if you didn’t, now you know.

And…

In case you missed the show, you can listen to the radio segment here!

#staygreen and #LIVEBetter friends!

Domenic Cortese is the President of Cortese Brothers Construction Company in Depew, New York, specializing in residential renovations, additions, kitchens, and baths as well as handyman services. The business, founded by Domenic’s dad and uncle in 1951, recently celebrated its 60th year in business. Cortese Brothers completed $2.75 million dollars in residential renovation projects last year.

We just love this photo of Energy Advocate Rachelle Moses...

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 10:08:00 -0400

We just love this photo of Energy Advocate Rachelle Moses getting ready to deliver our PUSH Green ”Friends and Neighbors” lawn signs to our green-riffic members! #happymondayfriends (Keep warm and dry Rachelle!)

Check out Clarke Gocker, our resident workforce development...

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:51:10 -0400

Check out Clarke Gocker, our resident workforce development guru, in this sneak peek photo from his interview yesterday morning about +PUSH Buffalo’s NetZero House and Green Jobs - Green New York’s PUSH Green program. Lookin’ good Clarke!

Tahara Family Hosts PUSH Green House Meeting by Alex Kuttesch,...

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 11:27:00 -0400

Tahara Family Hosts PUSH Green House Meeting

by Alex Kuttesch, PUSH Green community energy advocate

On Thursday, September 20, PUSH Green Captains Wayne and Mary Ann Tahara hosted our program’s fourth House Meeting. Members and leaders of their community gathered at All Saints Church in Black Rock to learn all about PUSH Green and our growing Friends and Neighbors Program.

Everyone in attendance was excited to learn exactly how PUSH Green can directly benefit their community and the organizations they that serve.

Representatives from organizations such as The Good Neighbor Planning Alliance, Rediscover Riverside, The Episcopal Church, and North District Common Council Member Joseph Golombek Jr., were all in attendance to learn how they can help (and join) our growing PUSH Green program.

By the end of the meeting, it was clear to Kate (PUSH Green program manager) and I, that everyone at Thursday’s House Meeting was extremely invested and interested in bettering the community – especially in Buffalo’s historic Black Rock.

It was also obvious that PUSH Green could really help these organizations in achieving their goals of neighborhood stability (and sustainability) and economic prosperity. Mercy, from Rediscover Riverside, even invited us to present at the organization’s next Members Meeting on October 10.

Thanks for a great meeting with such fun, influential people, Wayne!

#staygreen #LIVEBetter

Learn why the Uminski’s support PUSH Green. Visit us...

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:46:41 -0400

Learn why the Uminski’s support PUSH Green. Visit us online for more information about how our awesome Energy Advocates, Alex and Rachelle, can help you, your friends and your neighbors today! #LIVEBetter

Friends, let’s take a moment to welcome Frank and Sue to...

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:03:23 -0400

Friends, let’s take a moment to welcome Frank and Sue to the PUSH Green family.

BTW: We heard from a well placed source that your PUSH Green House Meeting went really, really well.

Isn’t that such green-rific news?!

Welcome to the family. #happyfridayfolks #LIVEBetter

Kenmore Customer Appreciation Event by Kate Howard, PUSH Green...

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:07:00 -0400

Kenmore Customer Appreciation Event

by Kate Howard, PUSH Green program manager

On Monday, Sept. 24, the PUSH Green team joined Kenmore homeowners, local Home Performance contractors and community leaders Mayor Patrick Mang and Delaware District Council Member Mike LoCurto, at the Brounshidle Post (American Legion Post 205) on Delaware Avenue to share program experiences and to celebrate the steps Kenmore has made in improving their community through energy efficiency.

Village of Kenmore Mayor Patrick Mang spoke about the value PUSH Green brings to Kenmore and about how the program provides homeowners with a unique opportunity to save money and invest in their homes.

“As people invest in their homes, their investing in their communities,” said Kenmore Mayor Patrick Mang. “This is a great program for the Village of Kenmore (and for me as well) to be a part of and it’s all thanks to PUSH Green.”

Mayor Mang also shared his experience as a member of PUSH Green’s Friends and Neighbors Program and what he learned about his home after his free comprehensive home energy assessment was completed.

Village homeowner and PUSH Green Captains Mary Jane and Denis Uminski told their PUSH Green story, which, for them, began when they read about the program in late February’s KenTon Bee.

“My husband and I made a promise that we would never be cold in our home,” stated Mary Jane Uminski. “Even though we kept our thermostat on a comfortable 70 degrees, there were days when we - well, mostly me - would come home and jack that sucker right on up to 77 degrees. I had to, it was that cold outside.”

They praised their new relationship with Rachelle Moses, PUSH Green community energy advocate, and the great comfort they now feel in their newly insulated, warmer home.

“I always felt like there was something wrong with my house, but I could never quite figure out what it was,” continued Uminski. “PUSH Green helped me understand exactly what was going on. I completely trust them because they not only believe in and are advocates for this program, but because they are truly here to help us homeowners out.”

Denis and Mary Jane even enrolled their daughter, a new Kenmore homeowner, into the program. She was recently approved for $10,000 worth of energy efficiency work through the program’s On-Bill Recovery financing system!

I would like to take this time to thank everyone who attended our event on Monday. We’re excited to continue bringing energy efficiency to Erie County, and will be expanding our outreach efforts to Tonawanda and North Buffalo in the coming weeks. We know our PUSH Green Captains and endorsers will continue to promote the benefits of PUSH Green and for that we are extremely grateful.

But that’s not all…

Monday night, was also the official launch of our new PUSH Green Customer Referral Program.

By following these three easy steps, you can now take advantage of a really cool incentive while helping us continue to spread the PUSH Green word.

Work with your Energy Advocate to send letters to your friends about PUSH Green and our Friends and Neighbors Program.
Start referring your friends. You ONLY HAVE 30 DAYS to spread the PUSH Green word.
Get a $25 Home Depot gift card or $25 donation in your name to a worker fund that eases the transition from training to employment for every person who signs a contract in the Friends and Neighbors Program (up to four individuals) OR get a $100 Home Depot gift card or $100 donation in your name to a worker fund for referring a bundle.

Really easy right? Well, then hurry up and start telling your friends; we only have a limited number of supplies left.

#staygreenfriends #LIVEBetter

To check out more photos from Monday night’s Kenmore Customer Appreciation event visit our Facebook page…just don’t forget to show us some green ‘Like’ love as well.

New PUSH Green t-shirts

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 10:45:34 -0400

Happy Green #HumpDay friends. Looks like our fabulous #greenteam is getting ready to roll out their new t-shirt design. What do you think? Do you like the new design? Are you all ready to #GetEnergyEfficient? We sure hope so!

#Staygreen friends!

A huge THANKS to everyone who helped us reach 200...

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:49:09 -0400

A huge THANKS to everyone who helped us reach 200 “likes” on Facebook! We ♥ you all! #happygreenfriday #livebetter #staygreen

Get over your mid-week hump and take a moment to meet our new...

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:44:46 -0400

Get over your mid-week hump and take a moment to meet our new PUSH Green Captains, Wayne and Mary Ann. Welcome to the PUSH Green family! #happygreenhumpday

We’re super excited to announce that our first, Friends...

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 13:33:00 -0400

We’re super excited to announce that our first, Friends and Neighbors program, energy efficiency retrofit is underway.

(Photo caption: Troy Gilchrist, PUSH Green Friends and Neighbors lead contractor, poses with Ryan McCarthy, Kenmore homeowner, before the start of his new energy upgrade.)