'Extreme Makeover' comes knocking for Buffalo family
Television personality Ty Pennington this morning knocked on the door of a Jamaican immigrant living on Buffalo's West Side.
"Good morning, Powell family," Pennington shouted about 9:30 a.m.
And with that introduction, Delores Powell, who came to the United States 20 years ago determined to make a home here for her family, knew she was the recipient of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."
She is a single mother with four children, who attend Buffalo Public Schools. Police sealed off the area and will keep it sealed off until about 6 a.m. Sunday.
"Home Edition" selects families that are struggling for financial or other reasons as the recipient of a new or significantly refurbished residence.
Powell's identity had been kept secret until the knock came this morning.
The Buffalo News profiled her in April 2008, as she was trying to renovate a house she had purchased at 228 Massachusetts Ave.
When she and her family moved into the house in September 2004, there was a big hole in one of the floors of the two-story home. There was no heat, because the boiler was busted and the pipes were lined with asbestos. The gas company had informed her there were no gas lines to the house.
Yet through it all, she has kept her determination and optimism.
"Leaving Jamaica and coming to America was really wonderful. It is a privilege," she told The News in 2008. "Everyone wants to come here for a whole lot more opportunities. It's a land of opportunity."
Six blocks of Massachusetts from West to 14th were cordoned off by Buffalo police, and they are not allowing cars or foot traffic in the area. Security for the show knocked on neighbors' doors about 8:15 a.m., asking them to move their cars.
The neighbors received a notice a couple weeks ago that someone in the area was a finalist for the show and could be selected. They didn't seem to be irritated at the request to move their vehicles.
"I think it is going to be great. We've lived in the neighborhood a long time," said Dave English os Massachusetts Avenue. "It is a nice little shot in the arm."
Several neighbors were out on their porches this morning, as the crew's vans and vehicles moved in.
"It is a blue-collar, working neighborhood, a melting pot," said English, a 20-year resident. "It is not a bad neighborhood."
Asians, Hispanic and some older Italians are residents of the area.
English said many families own their homes and try to keep them up.
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