Warehouse to Schoolhouse: NYC's Unique Source for School Supplies

With New York City's public schools set to open on Thursday, officials are reminding teachers about a unique and free source for school supplies.

The Materials for the Arts warehouse in Queens is 35,000 feet filled with donations from across the city. There are boxes of buttons and beads, piles of old planners and mounds of mannequins. Those jumpsuits from Orange Is the New Black were on display before getting snapped up. Film studios and department stores are among the biggest donors to the program, which is run by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs. 

Materials for the Arts executive director Harriet Taub said teachers have turned old ornaments into solar systems and file folders into puppets. "You always hear the story about a teacher reaching into their pocket and spending their own money and we're trying to make sure that our public school teachers in New York City have a place to go where the materials are free," she said. The Long Island City warehouse is open year round. Teachers just need to make an appointment.

Fifth grade teacher Jane Bishop said without the warehouse and help from her union, she'd spend $2,000 of her own money on supplies each year. "I get notebooks for children who can't otherwise have notebooks at school because they can't afford them," she said.