The thrill of finding a bargain can easily become an addiction. There’s something awesome about feeling like you cheated the system, or that somehow you got lucky in amongst a mess of very expensive junk. Of course flea markets are a go-to for all things unusual, beautiful and vintage, but sometimes it’s hard to find a decent item under 20 bucks.

If you want to spend a little more time and do the digging yourself, sifting through the rubbish in order to find the gold, you will undoubtedly be rewarded with very cheap riches. And the best place to do it (almost always to an awesome ’80s and ’90s R&B soundtrack)  is at the cavernous Salvation Army store in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Fort Greene/Clinton Hill.

Located in the street where the Michel Gondry-directed Dave Chappelle’s Block Party was filmed, you will enter a narrow doorway and walk up two flights of stairs. While one Yelp reviewer described this place as “the sketchiest-looking thrift store I’ve ever seen,” there you will be greeted with entire floor of potential finds; racks of women’s and men’s clothing (neatly divided into appropriate categories), kids’ stuff, furniture, household goods, and bric a brac.

On the particular Saturday that the New York MOOKS Report went a-hunting, amongst the assortment of shoulder pad-riddled jackets and blouses was an array of video tapes ripe for the plucking (Waiting To Exhale spotted amongst them), bits of novelty crockery, some interesting looking snowdomes (one with two preying raptors tucked in front of the show) and a singing carousel jewelry box. But before you take your goodies up to the counter, remember that if an item doesn’t have a tag on it, they won’t sell it to you, so be sure to handle your gold delicately.

Salvation Army
22 Quincy Street
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718-622-5686




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