Lucy Ali’s home improvement dreams were to expand her tiny one bedroom home so that both of her growing boys could have their own rooms. After hard work and struggle, Lucy got a home improvement loan that she thought would make her dreams come true. What it became was a living nightmare.
A contractor took her $72,000, ripped off the roof off the South Ozone Park home, and started work. Then, he fled with the money, leaving the home uninhabitable—exposed to the ravages of weather, rodents, and insects. For two years, the Alis were literally homeless homeowners, living on caring family members' couches, moving from hotel to hotel, and even staying at a homeless shelter. All the while, they continued paying the mortgage on a home they couldn’t live in.
Desperate, Lucy and her attorneys from a St. John’s University legal aid project reached out to ABC TV's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The show contacted Alure, and everything changed forever.
There wasn’t a question about whether Alure would take on the challenge of a 5 day makeover. Sal Ferro, Alure’s President, said, "The biggest outrage for me is that someone in my business took advantage of this hard-working family, stole their money, and left them homeless. When Extreme Makeover asked us to step in and undo the damage this contractor did, we threw ourselves into the job, body and soul."
Alure’s team worked non-stop for 5 days, pulling all-nighters, revising plans when unexpected structural problems in the home were discovered, and working with the area’s best suppliers and national manufacturers to install top products, including Quantum windows, UltraShield siding, and the revolutionary Owens Corning Basement Finishing System.
Many people have expressed an interest in contributing to the Ali Family Scholarship Fund. If you would like to contribute, please send your donation to:
Alure Home Improvements
C/O Ali Scholarship
116 Charlotte Ave
Hicksville, NY 11801
