Free Pop-Up Boutique Opens For People In Need In Bayside

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — An old Lane Bryant store at Bayside’s Bay Terrace Shopping Center has been transformed this week into a free closet for job seekers in need of professional clothing.

Commonpoint Closet, the free boutique of donated clothing run by Commonpoint Queens, a social services organization, is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. through Friday, with extended hours until 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.

According to the Queens-based non-profit, the boutique is a place where job seekers can “get the clothes [they] need to feel confident, prepared, and empowered” at a job interview, especially as the city reopens and looks towards economic growth.

Danielle Ellman, CEO of Commonpoint Queens, told CBS2 that the closet is a way to “level [the] playing field” and remove barriers that people face in the job search process.

“You don’t have to pick between your groceries this month and a suit for a job,” she said, adding that shoppers have a “dignified experience” in the boutique.

One shopper, Rahina Ahmed, told CBS2 that she lost her job during the pandemic and it has made her “so, so happy” to shop at the store and pick up donated professional clothes for an upcoming interview.

Her interview was also set up by Commonpoint Queens, as part of its expanded set of social services.

In addition to Commonpoint Queens’ employment hub in Elmhurst, which offers career counseling and job search support, the organization is connecting shoppers with employers at Commonpoint Closet.

“Not only can you shop for that perfect outfit for a job interview but you actually also might be connected to a potential employer,” Ellman told CBS2, noting that hiring companies have set up tables outside of the boutique.

The organization has bussed people from around Queens to the shopping center in Bayside, which was incidentally the site of a job fair last week.

The boutique, which is open through Friday, is accepting walk-in visitors. Find out more information about Commonpoint Closet here.