Brentwood, NY – Nov. 17, 2009 – Mark Gunthner, Paul Davis Restoration and Remodeling of Long Island owner, will continue to serve as general contractor for United Way of Long Island’s YouthBuild program with its newest project in Hempstead. According to Gunthner, Paul Davis Restoration and United Way of Long Island have been working together for more than a year on a variety of projects which focus on the construction of energy-efficient homes in Long Island.
“YouthBuild is a community development initiative that provides young people with the opportunity to continue their education, learn job skills to help transform their lives, plus learn to build green, energy efficient homes that will provide safe, healthy, affordable permanent housing for Long Islanders in need,” said Gunthner.
The project in Hempstead features a renovation of the 2,000 square foot Campbell Park community center on Evans Avenue. The building has been unoccupied since 2000. YouthBuild participants, ages 18 to 24 have been dismantling the structure including removing a wide variety of interior elements such as heating fixtures, lighting, and bathroom and kitchen appliances, among others. The group is also conducting a building process called deconstruction which is an environmentally sound alternative to demolition and involves recycling and reusing valuable materials and segregating toxic materials.
“To date, the Paul Davis and Youth Build teams have worked together to spray foam insulation into the interior of the structure for energy efficiency. We also installed an accessible ramp at the front door entry and an accessible bathroom along with an energy efficient heating and air conditioning system. We plan to install solar panels on the building as well,” said Gunthner. “We are proud to help the young people working on the project learn about energy-efficient and sustainable building and hope to help train them for future careers in green building,” he said.
The YouthBuild pilot program began in 2006 in the Suffolk County area of New York with a house provided by the Town of Islip Community Development Agency. Upon completion, the YouthBuild home in Brentwood will be sold to a qualifying low-to-moderate-income family.
According to Gunthner, his company will help to train the young people about green and energy efficient homes through the New York State ENERGY STAR ® program which provides safe, healthy, affordable, durable and sustainable permanent housing solutions and focuses on using sustainable building materials, appliances and building methods. For more information, contact Clay Burt at Paul Davis Restoration and Remodeling of Long Island at 631.434.1717 or email cburt@pdr-usa.net.
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About Paul Davis Restoration:
Founded in 1990, Paul Davis Restoration and Remodeling of Long Island specializes in providing emergency services for properties that have been damaged by water, mold, fire or vandalism. All Paul Davis owners and technicians are trained in Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) standards for inspection, cleaning and disaster restoration. IICRC is a non-profit certifying body which includes expertise in the flooring inspection, floor covering, fabric cleaning, and disaster restoration industry of fire and water.
Paul Davis has been a leader in residential and commercial loss mitigation, reconstruction, and restoration services since 1966. As a national full-service restoration expert, Paul Davis Restoration has franchise office locations throughout North America. For more information about Paul Davis Restoration, call 904.737.2779 or visit the website at www.pdrestoration.com.
About United Way of Long Island’s YouthBuild program:
United Way of Long Island’s YouthBuild initiative offers a curriculum that integrates academics with life skills. The academic program is built around six core skill areas; math, English, science and technology, social studies, life skills and health. Students will engage in a vocational education and hands on job training curriculum that includes core areas, such as Occupational Safety and Health Administration training and job safety, basic construction and carpentry skills, reading plans, project management, building materials and use, and exposure to all trades involved in the homebuilding industry.
An indoor “Learning Lab” will be accessible to students to learn tool use, how to handle building materials and safe work site practices in a controlled, supervised environment before venturing out to an actual building work site. United Way of Long Island, together with its community partners, advances the common good by investing in and developing programs that address Long Islanders’ critical needs in education, income and health. Visit www.unitedwayli.org.
Since United Way Long Island launched the program two years ago, YouthBuild has capitalized on the availability of stimulus funds steered toward green building and energy efficiency projects. In the past year, the organization has received a $1.1-million stimulus grant from the federal Department of Labor, $1 million in earmarks from U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) and local funding from the Nassau District Attorney’s office and the Hempstead Village Community Development Agency. The local group is one of 167 affiliates of YouthBuild USA, which reports that 76 percent of more than 14,000 students who participated in its programs between 2002 and 2006 went on to a job or further education.
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