Episode
S10 Ep7 HOUSING WORKS: Daniel Rodriguez and Emily McKay - on curating collections at one of NYC's most beloved thrift institutions, and what to shop at Best of Spring right now.
- Published
- Mar 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3193
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Summary
Today, we're sitting down with two of the many people behind one of New York City's most beloved thrift institutions — Housing Works. Housing Works is a mission-based organization born from the AIDS crisis, fighting for inclusive care, social justice, and an end to homelessness and the AIDS epidemic. Their thrift shops — nine locations across New York City, plus a bookstore café and online ecommerce shop — aren't just places to find incredible secondhand treasures. They're also the engine that funds life-saving services for New Yorkers, rooted in the belief that housing is healthcare. Daniel Rodriguez has been with Housing Works for nearly two decades. As Director of Operations, he has helped shape the organization's thrift enterprise, and oversees its operation from the shop floors to the annual events to the online auction site, developing the way Housing Works prices, merchandises, and tells the story of the pieces that come through its doors. Emily McKay is the Processing & Curation Manager which means she leads the Housing Works Processing and Distribution Center out in Long Island City — the behind-the-scenes warehouse hub where the majority of the organizations donations are sorted, curated, and transformed into the beautiful collections that stock the many city shops and headline the annual events. A former luxury consignment boutique owner who has earned her master's in fashion management at Parsons since her last time on this show, Emily brings a rare blend of expertise to the work of curating collections at scale. On today's episode, we get to explore the magic of what it actually takes to run a thrift enterprise of this size — the stories that come through the donation bags, the philosophy behind their curation, the unique role Housing Works plays in the ic…