Garden makeover hits Buffalo area

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The extreme heat didn't keep an extreme makeover from getting underway in one Buffalo neighborhood.

This makeover will consist of new sidewalks, gardens and front yards for 19 Buffalo homes and by this weekend you'll be able to vote for your favorite.

It's the first ever front yard garden competition.

And its happening on North Parade Avenue, behind M.L.K. Park in Buffalo. Nineteen front yards are getting the face lift of a lifetime by thirteen local landscaping companies willing to donate their time and materials.

Event Coordinator Sally Cunningham said, "This festival is like a great green umbrella of all the gardening events that we do in our region."

This particular neighborhood was chosen because it would compliment the work that Olmsted Parks and the City of Buffalo put into M.L.K. Park over the past few years.

Demone A. Smith said, "Martin Luther King Park is a focus of the city. We are about to invest over 1 million dollars in refurbishing the pool."

"What we are looking to do take the same synergisticness that we are doing here with this block to the other areas surrounding our Olmsted community parks, said Otis Glovner of Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy.

The cost of labor and materials for this transformation will exceed 250-thousand dollars. Needless to say the residents of this neighborhood are ecstatic about the changes.

A nearby resident Arfredah Gaines said, "I didn't hesitate, not one moment. Yes, do it please. can you start tomorrow?"

Just a couple houses away Sergio Stjean was sharing the same excitement.

"Just to hear that they were going to do it on the whole block, it was just something that we knew we had to get into, especially in this neighborhood its a perfect opportunity, said Stjean.

This makeover will transform this street for the better and make it a model for other neighborhoods to follow suit in the future.

The public can view and actually vote for their favorite yard from July 11th to the 18th. Ballots will be available outside each home.