Gothamist: Looking For a New Owner

raquelita

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 19:36:27 -0500

When I moved a few months ago, I contacted Catholic Charities, who routed me to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. They do pickups in each borough, I think, but you need to give them a few weeks advance notice. At least it gives you a deadline by which you need everything boxed up or bagged. See their phone #s at http://www.catholiccharitiesny.org/directory_alpha.cfm?alphachar=s.

Jan

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 12:46:41 -0500

I used to put everything on the street, nice things I just no longer wanted, then I got a $350 ticket form the sanitation department. Now I feel paranoid about putting anything out there that is not in a black garbage bag, and I feel really wasteful putting perfectly usable things in the trash like that, but I really have no time for picky donation centers.

Sally Tomato

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 10:02:34 -0500

Housing Works, definitely for books. They'll give you a receipt and everything. I recently got rid of all my VHS tapes at this place on 14th right on the NW corner of 6th Avenue, Entertainment somethingorother. They'll give you a quarter for each movie, and since I had so many I got about $8. Not bad.

amanda

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 09:53:12 -0500

A friend of mine organizes a clothing swap once or twice a year - she invites all of her friends, who each bring a few bags of gently-used clothing and/or accessories to her apartment, along with a couple of empty bags for good finds. The clothes are sorted into categories and it's a polite free-for-all. Almost everyone goes home with something "new". Anything not taken gets donated to a nearby thrift shop (Housing Works, I believe?). It works out great. My friend was talking about doing the same for books; I imagine it would work well.

xnan

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 09:32:25 -0500

Just got a piece in the mail from the Dept. of Sanitation.This Sunday, at the North end of Union Square, they are accepting donations of gently used clothing and linens (towels, blankets, sheets, curtains). They'll give you a receipt (for taxes)--just ask. ALSO- unwanted or broken electronics; ONLY accepting the following: Computers (ALL), monitors, printers, scanners, mice, keyboards, TVs, cell phines. For these theyare not giving receipts. THe first 100 people get a $5 Best Buy gift card.

Emily

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 23:01:22 -0500

I've had great luck with the UJA Federation of New York- very easy to schedule a pick-up. Call 212.836.1424 or e-mail thriftshop2@ujafedny.org. http://www.ujafedny.org/site/PageServer?pagename=thriftshop

smuttynose

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 18:38:33 -0500

We used City Opera Thrift Shop when we moved and they were great: 212.684.5344. Just give them 3-5 business days to pick up your stuff.

John Sibley

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:42:56 -0500

How can you ignore Craigslist? I've used it many times to give things away that I no longer want/need - there's even a special section for it!

Em

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 15:11:12 -0500

I literally just today got a flyer in the mail about a city-run event on the 24th of this month - I don't have it with me right now and I can't remember the exact details, but they're accepting "gently used" clothes, and I would imagine the information is somewhere online.

Em

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 15:11:12 -0500

smitty

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:46:22 -0500

Another book swapping site like the one Chococat mentioned is Paperbackswap.com. It's free and one of the biggest (they have about 750,000 books available right now). I've swapped about 100 books on there and have had no problems. You can also leave books at your local coffee shop. I always leave a bunch at the free bookshelf at Ozzy's on 5th in Park Slope.

nosidedown

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:42:44 -0500

seriously, throw it curbside. someone will always take it.

Sandy

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:42:16 -0500

Freecycle works great--especially for items that are actually worth something like gently-worn clothes or furniture. For books & CDs, make a visit to the Strand &/or Sounds with items still in good shape--you'll make a few bucks. For the rest, have a stoop sale.

Chococat

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:39:18 -0500

Look into media trading at www.zunafish.com. Trade your once-read books for other people's once-read books.

smitty

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:33:58 -0500

Materials For The Arts is a wonderful place to donate home and office goods (furniture, appliances, etc). They have a huge warehouse in LIC where 3,500 of the city's arts groups (and groups that have arts programs like NYC public schools & senior centers). The items are used from everything as props, to make art, and in the offices of these organizations. I've volunteered there and they are a wonderful organization that helps a lot of people. They have a website: http://www.mfta.org They don't accept clothes or shoes, but they do accept: Furniture Office Supplies Home Appliances CDs Books Chairs, especially office chairs Computers (no more than 4 years old) Computer related items like scanners, printers, and fax machines Household items like irons, dishes, silverware, vases, and lamps Frames Office supplies Paper, and posterboard Projectors and screens Video equipment Wallpaper and home decorating supplies Miscellaneous - ladders, telephones, answering machines, etc. If you have other stuff they won't accept, click on over to this list: http://members.mfta.org/donor_resources/ It's a list of a bunch of other organizations that accept donations of various things. "If you are able to drop your donation off at our conveniently located Long Island City facility, you can do so on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There are certain items that we do not accept so please call in advance to discuss your donation with our staff – 718.729.3001 ext. 207." I'm pretty sure they also do pickups if you have a good amount of stuff. Just call 'em. You can also get rid of your stuff via freecycle (google it). You can also join bookcrossing.com and release your books in public spots and track them, which is fun. Or, try selling them at Strand, Alabaster Bookshop, or 7th Avenue Books in Park Slope.

John Tuchtenhagen

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:19:13 -0500

I live on the Upper West side and i put clothers and other donation items next to my garbage cans out front of the building. Within hours the items are gone, picked up and used by the homeless. I call it cutting out the middle man. Donating directly to those in need. I think people know that good stuff gets thrown away on the UWS so the needy are constantly patroling the neighborhood. I have had bad luck with Salvation Army as well...

g

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:17:43 -0500

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2005/09/06/where_can_i_donate_clothes.php

otherobject

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:07:41 -0500

Look into making donations of books to hospitals. They find much more use there than they would at a bigotted and homophobic religious institution.