You can now own a piece of the “Conan O’Brien Show.”
O’Brien is now in Los Angeles, CA to host the “Tonight Show,” but relics of his former television program can be found at Build It Green! (BIG) NYC, located at 3-17 26th Avenue in Astoria. Set props were donated by the show and are now available for purchase at BIG!NYC, a non-profit that collects building material donations from renovations and movie, theater and television productions. These are then sold at a reduced cost to the consumer.
The company was notified that they would be receiving donations from the show on Friday, February 20. They tagged the items that they wanted to take and picked them up the following Tuesday.
Harvey Jaswal, warehouse manager, said donated items include stage risers, carpeting, fake plants and a life-size cutout of NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams.
“We got a lot of quirky stuff,” he said.
John Rourke Conners, the show’s art director, sought out BIG!NYC’s services because he did want not want to waste the set material. He wanted to see them recycled for another purpose.
Jaswal said the company’s customer base ranges from individuals looking to decorate to set designers looking for props. Contractors and artists also frequent the warehouse. He said customers could save 50 to 60 percent by buying used set material.
Jaswal went on to say that the film industry is very aware of BIG!NYC’s services. Many New York City-based shows, like “Law & Order,” donate their set materials as an alternative to throwing them away.
“We don’t have an advertising budget,” said Jaswal. “Most people hear about us by word-of-mouth.”
All profits go to fund Solar 1, an environmental education center, and the Community Environmental Center, which is comprised of an engineer team that upgrades homes to make them more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
To find out more about BIG!NYC, visit www.bignyc.org.
