“Free”-For-All
At The Free Store

(Updated with response from Free Store founder Ben Aubin.) Two volunteers packing up at the New Haven Free Store got into a fight. One struck a blow with a fire extinguisher. The other reached for a knife.

That was the scene that led to two arrests Thursday night, according to Downtown District Manager Lt. Rebecca Sweeney.

She said police reported to the Free Store at 55 Church St. at around 6:30 p.m. on a report of two people fighting. Two volunteers — a man and a woman — who had been helping the store pack up for its move to Court Street had gotten into a dispute. The man grabbed a fire extinguisher and struck the woman with it, Sweeney said. The woman found a large kitchen knife but didn’t injure the man, Sweeney said.

Both people were arrested for assault with a dangerous weapon and breach of peace. The woman suffered minor injuries, Sweeney said.

The store has been one of the more unusual and remarked-upon entries in downtown’s small-business economy. It was started to give away donated merchandise to customers, who line up every day for a chance to get in, and to train people in bicycle repair; it also aims to make a profit. It got free space itself for the first few months of business as part of an effort called Project Storefronts, which aims to fill vacant retail locations short-term with businesses looking to get on their feet. Then the landlord starts charging rent — or as in the case of the Free Store, the business moves to a different location when a paying tenant emerges.

Ben Aubin, a founder of the Free Store, released the following statement on Friday afternoon:

The history of Free Stores stretches back for many decades. In the mid and late 1960’s a theater group called The Diggers opened the first Free Stores in San Francisco, calling it the ​“Free Frame of Reference.” The name of the store drew inspiration from the Digger slogan, ​“Create the
conditions that you describe.”

Social enterprises like the New Haven Free Store track their success by how many lives are changed through its inspiration. We facilitate neighbors caring for neighbors. It’s an exchange of love. The community begins the healing process by caring for itself, and we simply provide a space that illustrates how good conditions in New Haven can be. We provide positive motivation, in a nurturing environment.

We have been extremely successful, having given out more than 16 tons of clothing, training over 100 volunteers in job skills that have helped some of them land jobs, and networking community organizers from throughout the area. It is true however, that in the face of enormous positive change a small bump in the road might appear — such as the events of last night.

I recently moved to New Haven from Portland, Oregon. While living there I assisted a bike shop named Well-Tuned Fast Bikes in their marketing. Thirty days in to opening the owner — Tom Daly — had his shop robbed. We wrote to local press and within 2 weeks members of the community came together and replaced everything that had been stolen through donations.

In this same spirit, and the spirit of creating the conditions that we describe, the Free Store community refuses to bend in fear and will continue its mission of creating positive change.

This bump has created some difficulty for us, and so if you are interested in seeing the Free Store mission continue, consider asking your employer to participate in the Free Store Alliance. If you are a business owner, consider making a stand for a better New Haven by partnering with the FSA, and letting the community know you have their interests in mind.

Together we as a community may break the cycles of fear that stand in the way of positive change. Those things in life worth the most are the hardest to achieve. Many in New Haven have witnessed violence, regrouped, and carried on with volition.

With your help we intend to do the same.

Sincerely,
Ben Aubin