By:Nick Buglione and Nicole Falco
Valley Stream resident George Albano, of Albano A/C & Mechanical Service Corp., didn't even know the exact location of the family's home until about four hours before he was supposed to be there. But on Aug. 19, Albano, his assistant, Nar Karran, and dozens of other tradesmen began work on what was described as a dilapidated one-family house in South Ozone Park.
Lucy Ali, who lives on 128th Street with her two adopted sons, Paul and Kuran, had hired a contractor to put a second-story addition on her home. "Basically, the contractor gutted the place, walked with the money and filed for bankruptcy," said Jeanette Stone, "Extreme Makeover's" design producer. The family was out $72,000, and worse, no longer had a home. They bounced around relatives' homes, and even lived for a while in a homeless shelter.
Airing on Sundays at 8 p.m. and entering its second season, the hit reality program sends a seven-man design team to find deserving families with run-down homes for surprise makeovers that are performed virtually overnight. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" receives some 40,000 applications a week from potential candidates for the show, according to the show's producers, but the Alis stood out. To get them out of the house so work could begin, ABC sent them on a Disney cruise, Stone said, but they had no idea their home was getting such a huge facelift.
"We want it to be a surprise when they come back," Stone said. "It's the best part. My favorite moment is when the family comes home and you see their faces."
Albano and more than 125 others worked around the clock for five days to restore the house, a project that might have taken six to nine months under normal circumstances. The central air conditioning system Albano installed was just one piece of the house's overall makeover.
"We all did bump into one another, but at the same time everybody helped one another out to get the job done," Albano said. "It's amazing how everybody got along - the cast members, the workers, even the neighbors."
The project was overseen by Alure, an East Meadow contracting firm specializing in kitchens, bathrooms, basements, siding, windows and roofing. The entire project, which otherwise would have cost the family about $500,000, included reframing the second-story addition and building three new bathrooms and bedrooms. The refurbished house also boasts a new kitchen, front and back decks, new carpeting, a fresh paint job, roofing, siding and landscaping.
The family will also receive new furniture and appliances - even a new wardrobe. All materials and items are donated, Stone said.
"After doing all that work, it made it all worth that much more knowing that you helped change the lives of three people," Albano said.
For Albano's family - huge fans of the show - visiting him at the construction site became routine for the days he was there. "We were actually watching the progression of how they rebuilt that house," said his wife, Donna.
She said the cast could not have been more accommodating to fans. Her children - Lisa, 15, Gina, 12, and Michael, 17 - and even their friends were able to take pictures with cast members, including Ty Pennington, Constance Ramos and Michael Maloney.
The best part, though, was seeing the faces of the Alis when they returned from Disney World Aug. 24. "It was very touching," Donna said. "The boys were so excited. They were jumping up and down. We were crying. It was so exciting to see. ... It's not too often that something like this comes along."
"It was worth it just to be there and see how Hollywood works," Albano said.
The program featuring the Alis and will air sometime this fall. Albano may not be seen on the show - hundreds of hours of footage must be edited into a 51-minute package - but in exchange for the work he did, he can use the "Extreme Makeover" logo in his advertising. Albano said he would definitely consider taking on another project for the show.
