Thrift Shop May Close if Space Isn’t Found by June

A local thrift shop operated by the Fort Lee Community Fund, which provides assistance to Fort Lee residents in need, is in danger of closing its doors permanently if space can’t be found to house it.

The Second Look Shoppe has been operating out of the ’s C.Y.O. basement since 2004, but fund officials recently received a letter from the church saying it needed the space for other purposes and that the thrift shop has until June to move out.

“They need the space now for other purposes. Apparently another church is joining them, and they need the room,” said Joan Alter, president of the Fort Lee Community Fund. “I have the mayor looking for a place for us, and the building department is looking for a place for us, but so far, they haven’t come up with anything. If they don’t, we’re going to have to close up shop.”

The Fort Lee Community Fund provides one-time, crisis assistance to Fort Lee residents who don’t qualify for state welfare but need help nonetheless.

“We’re not there to make money off it,” Alter said. “It’s to serve the community. The funds that we make from the shop we use to help people in need, whose income is above public assistance level, and yet they need a one-time shot to stay in their apartment or to pay for a car payment so that they can continue to go to work or fall behind on the telephone bill. The Fort Lee Community fund is there to help people with one-time need so they can stay safe in the community.”

She said the most common form of assistance the fund provides is for people who have fallen behind in their rent because they’ve lost a job.

As an example, Alter read from a letter the Fort Lee Community Fund received from one such person.

“Your help removed a heavy financial burden from my shoulders,” Alter read. “I appreciate your quick response time and understanding of my situation. As a member of the Fort Lee community, it is my [good fortune] that I had a place to go for help.”

Under the ongoing agreement with the church, the non-profit thrift store hasn’t been paying rent. Instead, the church has been taking care of insurance, utilities and maintenance in exchange for half the proceeds from the shop and the two clothing bins it maintains outside the shop and church area.

“It serves a great purpose, especially in this time of recession, because people can come in and buy clothes that are in excellent shape,” Alter said. “We don’t accept anything that isn’t in good shape.”

The thrift store, which sells mainly clothing, shoes and some small household items but no furniture, is the main form of fundraising for the Fort Lee Community Fund, Alter said, adding that they do send out letters every year asking for small donations from businesses—“whatever they can give us, but it doesn’t amount to that much.”

“It used to amount to a great deal more when my husband was mayor, but it doesn’t anymore,” Alter said. “There’s a recession going on. Businesses are closing all over.”

And if the non-profit thrift store, which is only open Saturdays and run by volunteers, is forced to close itself, the fund will be critically strapped when it comes to helping people who are “not eligible for any type of public assistance, but need help to stay safe,” according to Alter.

“The shop is our main way of raising money to help these people, and people are very glad to donate to us,” she said. “We can give them a tax write-off for the clothing and so forth. [But] we need a space. The town will help us in terms of paying electricity and so forth, because we are helping the town. We only work for Fort Lee people. We only take care of the community.”