Residents Throw Going-Away Party For Local Business Owner: Photos

INWOOD, NY — The Inwood community came together over the weekend to throw a surprise party for a local business owner shutting down for good.

Colleen has owned and operated the Colleen Cleaner Laundry & Alteration shop on Broadway between West 211th and 212th Streets for the past 25 years.

The shop is reportedly going out of business on Oct. 31, but loyal customers wanted to make sure Colleen knew how much they valued her more than two decades of service.

The surprise party was put together by Tim Frasca, a member of the Upper Manhattan community, who had heard through community Facebook groups that Colleen's shop was shuttering.

Frasca set a date and invited everybody he could.

One of those people was Katy Andrascik.

"The first time I met Colleen I felt so welcomed and like she was genuinely happy that I walked into her shop," Andrascik told Patch. "I didn't take my clothes to get dry cleaned, but after the first visit she always remembered who I was. I think it was the same with many of the people in the neighborhood.

"Everyone just feels so welcomed by Colleen and happy after interacting with her. She is a really positive and joyful person to be around."

Here are a collection of photos from the surprise party: