Materials for the Arts is a program of the

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) is the department of the government of New York City dedicated to supporting New York City's cultural life. Among its primary missions is ensuring adequate public funding for non-profit cultur ...

that provides free "new and gently used donated supplies to artists, nonprofit groups, and public schools." Its current executive director is Harriet Taub. Established in 1979 by artist Angela Fremont, it was described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as "like a

Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...

reimagined as ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure''." Located in a 25,000-square-foot warehouse in

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

, its shelves are "stocked with things like toaster ovens, rugs, theater curtains, yarn, paint and toothbrushes." Considered to be one of the largest

reuse Reuse is the action or practice of using an item, whether for its original purpose (conventional reuse) or to fulfill a different function ( creative reuse or repurposing). It should be distinguished from recycling, which is the breaking down of u ...

centers in the country, the program redistributes more than $6 million in supplies a year, gathering "donations from fashion houses, television production companies and big-name corporations like Estée Lauder." According to its website, the program also removes "hundreds of tons from the waste stream every year and eeps itout of landfills, which helps sustain our environment, promote reuse, and reduce waste."

External links

Official link on NYC.gov

Notes

Government of New York City Environmental organizations based in New York City Environmental justice in New York City {{art-stub