Harlem 'Swap & Shop' Store Offers Affordable Clothes, Community

EAST HARLEM, NY — A once-vacant East Harlem storefront has been transformed into a fashion-oriented community center where people can trade in clothes, purchase gifts or simply meet some of their neighbors.

The Sustainable Fashion Community Center opened in May in a two-floor retail space at 1795 Lexington Ave., between East 111th and 112th streets. It's part of the city's Storefront Startup program, a pandemic effort to provide rent-free storefronts to business owners, especially entrepreneurs of color and those in lower-income neighborhoods.

The downstairs portion of the store is known as the Swap Shop, where customers can purchase anything from clothing to fabrics to books and plants. To get access, guests can become monthly members and swap their own items for free, or buy a $15 day pass.

The space also hosts community events including painting classes, zodiac dance parties and mending workshops.

Upstairs, meanwhile, is the Fair-Trade Gift Shop, where the items on sale include fair-trade coffee and artisan-made goods. It also features a co-working space and studio, available to anyone who volunteers their time or signs up for a monthly membership.

"More than co-working space, this is a breeding ground for community organizers, fair trade advocates and those wishing to surround themselves with like-minded individuals," organizers said in a news release.

The Sustainable Fashion Community Center is open Monday-Friday from 1-7 p.m. It is expected to remain open through late winter.

Learn more at the SFCC website.