By Matthew Monks
During each episode, a hunky design and construction team led by handyman Ty Pennington works around the clock to revamp some downtrodden homeowner's digs in less than a week. The subjects always have a heartbreaking story, like the deaf family struggling to make ends meet or the relatives of firemen killed during the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. Lucy Ali's family in South Ozone Park was no exception. The 62-year-old and her two adopted sons were left homeless in October 2002, after a shoddy contractor wrecked her single bedroom house and fled with her $72,000 payment. The retired city Department of Finance manager commissioned a second floor with new bedrooms for her two 12-year-olds, Paul and Kuran. Instead she got a half-finished job, leaving the first floor open to wind, rain, and snow. “It was uninhabitable – there were exposed walls, exposed plumbing,” said Pam Faison Browne, 41, her daughter. “All of the wood was corroded and infested with termites,” added Dean Colter, 53, Ali's brother. So the family moved out of the house, boarding it up and crashing on family members' couches. They even parked in a homeless shelter for a spell, until the facility learned Ali owned a home and kicked her out. “She was living in hotels at her own expense,” Colter said, “Living pillow to pillow man.”Students at St. John's University School of Law's Elder Clinic took on her case, filing legal papers on her behalf and getting the contractor's claims of breach of contract dismissed. The on-campus public interest law firm held a bake sale for her and helped her find temporary living quarters. Ali finally took on a single bedroom apartment in Queens Village, Colter said, somehow swinging the $750 rent while making her monthly $1,400 mortgage payments. After hearing about an Extreme Makeover promotion in New York City, she cut an audition tape and put it in the mail in April. It struck a chord with producers.”If their story doesn't touch your heart you're not human,” said Patrick Barratt, 31, one of the more than 100 local contractors who volunteered for the project. A framer, he worked three 18-hour days replacing a rotted outside wall and constructing the portico over a front door that now opens onto a cedar deck porch.Hicksville-based contractor Alure oversaw the construction, organizing the 24-hour a day fleet of painters, electrician, and carpenters, said company chairman Carl Hyman. “Very simply, we totally rebuilt this house in four days,” Hyman said. “You're looking at a seven-month job.”Among the stunning new amenities: A media room with a 60-inch screen television and surround sound; a commercial stove; a new fireplace; and two go-carts for the kids, with a test race track in the backyard. “This is really a high-end home,” Hyman said. His brother and business partner Bob estimated that it underwent at least $450,000 in work. The change electrified Ali and her sons. Before the unveiling, a limousine ferried them into the street, where they were greeted by host Pennington and hundreds of well-wishers, who clapped, shouted their names and held posters reading “Welcome Home Ali Family and Thanks Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”A large tour bus blocked the house, prompting the crowd to chant: “Move that Bus! Move that Bus!”And when it did, Ali and her sons yelped and boogied in the street, throwing their arms around each other while the rest of the famous design team burst through the front door. They fell into a group hug with carpenter Paige Hemmis, designer Michael Moloney and planner Constance Ramos.Her family beamed. “She's been to hell and back,” Faison Browne said. “We really feel that this is God's reward for a really tough life.”Reach reporter Matthew Monks by email at news@timesledger.com or at 718-229-0300 ext. 156.
