Inside the free Queens warehouse where NYC teachers stock their classrooms
Once a month, public school teachers can load a cart with art supplies, props and furniture at a city-run warehouse on Northern Boulevard and pay nothing.
Once a month, New York City public school teachers can load a shopping cart with classroom supplies at Materials for the Arts and pay nothing. The Department of Cultural Affairs runs the program from a Queens warehouse on Northern Boulevard that covers 35,000 square feet. Teacher shopping days land on the first Thursday of every month.
For many teachers, the monthly trip has become a ritual. The Department of Education reimburses educators for money they spend on their own classrooms, and the United Federation of Teachers announced last month that this school year’s cap is $220. Some teachers say that sum does not stretch as far as their students need. Some of them raise money on crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe and DonorsChoose. Others count on the Queens warehouse.
How the free teacher shopping days work
Visitors head up to the third floor, pick up a cart and start filling it. Evening hours run from 4 to 7 p.m. and will continue until classes end in June. The window to use the $220 reimbursement closes Jan. 8, 2027. The general public cannot shop here. The warehouse supplies teachers from more than 1,800 public schools, plus some arts nonprofits, at no cost.
Yellow buckets of office supplies and craft materials fill the floor, with couches and tables farther back. The stock comes from local theaters and schools clearing out old sets and props, from manufacturers getting rid of products, and from individuals. What people want changes from month to month. Last Thursday, the hot item was a plastic dinosaur mask that covers the entire head.
Items sometimes show up in huge quantities. “We get 1,000 top hats,” said John Cloud Kaiser, the program’s education and gallery director.
Alain Codio has been coming here for close to a decade. He teaches high school students at a Williamsburg school centered on architecture and design. This time his cart held model-making and laser engraving tools for the manufacturing club, PlayStation games for the game design club, and easels and paint for a Valentine’s Day sip-and-paint. He was also hunting for items for the school’s upcoming production of “Shrek The Musical.” He said the school runs about 20 programs on a set budget, and the free materials make that less stressful.
How to donate to Materials for the Arts
Donations are open to everyone. The public can drop items off between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Bigger loads go through a loading dock on site.
Quick answers
Who can shop at Materials for the Arts?
New York City public school teachers and some arts nonprofits. The general public cannot shop at the warehouse.
When are the free teacher shopping days?
On the first Thursday of every month. Evening hours from 4 to 7 p.m. continue until classes end in June.
How can I donate to Materials for the Arts?
Bring items to the Northern Boulevard warehouse in Queens between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Large loads go through the loading dock on site.
