Buffalo Rising covered the story with Elena's post this morning - here.Michael Gainer, founder of Buffalo ReUse, was canned from the organization he envisioned and made reality by interim executive director Harvey Garrett. For full satisfaction, you’ll need to follow this story as it unfolds online on various blogs. (Try WNYMedia.net for starters.) But here are the bare bones:
Gainer was replaced as executive director in January by his board of directors, with which he’d had a contentious relationship. The board accused Gainer of poor financial management—a charge to which Gainer pleads guilty—while he suspected the board was more interested in bottom lines than in what he regards as the raisons d’etre for Buffalo ReUse: community development, neighborhood building, job training. Gainer was demoted to operations manager, and West Side housing activist Garrett was named ED. According to Garrett, Gainer continued to put Buffalo ReUse in legal and financial jeopardy, and his relationship with the board grew worse. Gainer says he felt undermined by both Garrett and the board, and that what he’d needed all along was a financial manager to put the organization’s books in order—not to be replaced. Last week, Garrett says, Gainer was put on unpaid leave, for reasons he would not divulge. On Monday, Garrett says the board told him to dismiss Gainer. Both Gainer and the board have released statements about the dismissal. Many members of the organization are furious. Many ReUse employees feel at sea. This is an interesting and fraught moment for ReUse, a young, celebrated not-for-profit; for Gainer, its dynamic but somewhat flawed founder; and for Garrett, a popular community activist with his reputation on the line.
A heralded grass-roots leader in Buffalo has been fired from the East Side nonprofit organization he founded three years ago.
Michael Gainer was removed Monday as operations manager of Buffalo ReUse, which salvages building materials sold in its ReUse store as an alternative to demolition, to promote neighborhood development and provide jobs for inner- city youth.
Gainer was sacked by Harvey Garrett, another prominent grass-roots leader hired in March to be chief executive officer and to replace Gainer as executive director
His relationship with Garrett as an intermediary failed, he said, due to “incompatible values, priorities and vision.” - read the rest.
Make certain to check out Chris Smith's coverage of this story over at Buffalo Geek and Alan's Buffalo Pundit - Rocky Week for Buffalo Activism. Here's the latest video from WNYmedia where Michael Gainer speaks out about these developments.
In a historic reversal, the cities are embracing plans that emphasize growing smaller. In Buffalo, where more than a third of the students drop out of high school, Michael Gainer, executive director of Buffalo ReUse, is putting young people to work dismantling some of the thousands of abandoned homes and selling the scrap materials.
This is the official statement so far - it's still being worked on but here it is.As no doubt you already know, Michael Gainer, one of our founding members, is no longer employed by Buffalo ReUse. Buffalo ReUse will forever be indebted to Michael for his vision, passion and drive, without which Buffalo ReUse would not exist today. The decision to part ways with Michael was the most difficult our young organization has faced, and we assure you it was absolutely our last resort. As the statement released by Michael indicates “lots” of “mistakes” were made, protocols were not followed and the chain of command was not respected. These infractions have created significant barriers to the organization, its sustainability and its future growth. Like all not for profit entities, Buffalo ReUse--and everyone associated with it--must, above all else, follow clearly defined regulations and protocol for its business matters. Unfortunately, a cross-roads has been reach with Michael regarding these matters and accordingly a change had to be made.We wish Michael the best in his future professional endeavors.If you would like further information we urge you to contact Stephanie Simeon, Chair of the Board of Directors at Stephanie.simeon@gmail.com.
