In New Orleans, an empty building becomes a free store — and roller skating rink
New Orleans — Scars from Hurricane Katrina are still visible in the Lower Ninth Ward more than 20 years later: empty lots where people never rebuilt their homes and boarded up storefronts where businesses never came back.
asserted
businesses → become → homes
On one corner, an old Family Dollar store stands covered in graffiti.
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store → stand → graffiti
It looks abandoned.
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It → look → ?
But twice a week people line up outside, and when the doors open, they rush in to find racks full of clothing and shelves piled high with household goods, toys, food, books — even packs of birth control.
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they → line → control
Mattresses and furniture line the walls and there are bins full of purses and shoes.
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Mattresses → line → purses
And it's all free for the taking at the New Orleans Free Store, where Ernestine Lane is shopping with a friend from church.
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Lane → take → church
They're trying on boots and winter wear even though it's mid-August and pushing 100 degrees.
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it → try → degrees
"The problem is, we're not used to cold weather," says Lane, "so when it gets cold, you're naked."
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you → use → weather
In this heat, several industrial fans cool the space: there's no air conditioning in the 9,000 square foot building.
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fans → cool → building
Lane says people might be skeptical at first, because of how the free store looks from the street.
uncertain
store → say → street
"They see the graffiti on the outside of the building and it's a misconception.
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it → see → building
I say 'Go in, there's blessings in there, go in.'
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I → say → ?
"People who are struggling don't just want the bare necessities," says Dan Bingler, founder of the Greater New Orleans Caring Collective, a local mutual-aid organization that runs the free store.
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that → struggle → store
"They want nice things, too, because they deserve nice things, too," he adds.
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he → want → things
"People want comfort.
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People → want → comfort
People want care.
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People → want → care
People want fun objects in their house just for the sake of those existing.
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People → want → those
Bingler, who is 42-years-old, has a history degree and used to work as a server and bartender in fine dining restaurants.
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who → have → restaurants
When he was sent home at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bingler says he started organizing grocery deliveries to older folks in the community, meal delivery to families, and help with laundry for people who couldn't safely get to a laundromat.
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who → send → laundromat
"It blew up locally," he says.
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he → blow → ?
Then, when Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana in 2021, "that put us in a position to have kind of like a community resource center," Bingler says.
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Bingler → hit → center
"We had so many objects and things people had donated."
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people → have → objects
The parking lot outside the abandoned Family Dollar was already being used in a similar way, but Bingler made a deal with the owner of the property to use the building rent-free.
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Bingler → abandon → building
He just has to pay the utilities.
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He → have → utilities
That way the property is kept up until the owner is ready to redevelop it in the future.
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owner → keep → future
"It's just a crazy opportunity," Bingler says.
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Bingler → say → ?
"I don't think it's really been tapped."
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it → think → ?
He thinks the idea could be replicated at empty storefronts around the country.
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idea → think → country
On this day, Hilsa Rodriguez, a 37-year-old mom who lives nearby is shopping with her stepdaughters, Angela and Gloria Calix.
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who → live → stepdaughters
Angela, 8, says she likes the free store "a lot."
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she → say → store
She's picked out some animal-print hair clips for school, which she shows to her sister.
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she → pick → sister
Gloria, 9, is shopping for baggy jeans.
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Gloria → shop → jeans
"I like to look for shirts in the summer," she says.
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she → like → summer
She shows off a small, furry vest and explains, "My stepmom is a babysitter.
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stepmom → show → vest
I thought I could be nice and give this to the baby."
uncertain
I → think → baby
She's also picked up some towels in case she goes to the beach and flip flops that she's not sure will fit: "I have big feet," she adds.
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she → pick → feet
As the two older girls dig through bins and happily run around with their shopping bags, their stepmom peruses the shelves with her 4-year-old, Galya.
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stepmom → dig → Galya
The free store "helps us a lot," says Rodriguez, who has six kids at home.
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who → help → home
"To have all the donations that they have here," she adds, "we're very grateful."
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we → have → that
In addition to clothing and housewares, the New Orleans Free Store opens its doors for other services twice a week.
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Store → open → services
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
