#29 Affordable Supplies

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Tools and Equipment

In New York City, the GrowNYC Grow Truck tool loan program traverses all five boroughs and loans out both common and specialized garden tools, as well as other garden supplies.  More information and an application to borrow tools are available online at http://www.grownyc.org/openspace/growtruck.  For more information, email growtruck@grownyc.org or call (212) 788-7935.
Farmer Pirates, an urban farmer cooperative in Buffalo, shares knowledge and equipment, makes bulk supply purchases, and facilitates shared ownership of land.  Visit http://www.farmerpirates.com/ for more information.
Also consider shopping for tools and equipment at sites such as Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.org/) or Freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org/), or rummaging at salvage stores (see below).

Tool Libraries

Tool libraries are often affiliated with public libraries, and provide tool loan services.  Tool libraries in New York include:

• Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s Tool Lending Library (http://bfloparks.org/)
  84 Parkside Ave, Buffalo NY, (716) 838-1249, info@bfloparks.org
• University Heights Tool Library (http://www.ourheights.org/uhtl/)
  5 West Northrup Place, Buffalo NY, (716) 510-1745, uhtl@ourheights.org
• Seaport Tool Lending Library in Manhattan (http://seaporttools.org/)

Salvage and Re-Use Stores

Salvage and re-use stores can be great sources of affordable construction materials and tools.

• Build it Green! NYC (http://bignyc.org/)
  Astoria Warehouse, 3-17 26^th Avenue, Queens, NY, (718) 777-0132, Astoria@bignyc.org
  Gowanus Center, 69 9^th Street, Brooklyn, NY, (718) 725-8925, gowanus@bignyc.org
• ReHouse Architectural Salvage (http://rehouseny.com/)
  469 W. Ridge Road, Rochester, NY, (585) 288-3080, rehouseinfo@rehouseny.com
• Buffalo ReUse Store (http://www.buffaloreuse.org/)
  296 E. Ferry Street, Buffalo, NY, (716) 882-2800, info@buffaloreuse.org
• Fingerlakes ReUse (http://fingerlakesreuse.org/)
  2255 North Triphammer Road, Ithaca, NY, (607) 257-9699

The Green Eco Services website provides a list of stores that sell reclaimed wood, salvaged building materials, and used architectural elements in New York at http://www.greenecoservices.com/reclaimed-wood-salvage-fsc-timber-ny/.  This listing, however, is not maintained and businesses should be called before visiting.
 
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