Featured Store: Jay's Hallmark

JAY'S HALLMARK in the South Building at the Port Authority Bus Terminal is this gigantic stationery and card store. If it is schmaltzy or kitschy, it is likely they will have it. From "world's Best Dad" coffee to inspirational picture frame, it may be in stock. Think Ziggy and America in 1985. It is an office manager's Nirvana. 625 8th Avenue New York, NY 10018 - (212) 564-6030.

Featured Store: Surma Ukrainian Store

Surma Ukrainian Store at 11 E. 7th St. Is one of the remnants of the old East Village Ukrainian neighborhood. The store sells Ukrainian Orthodox icons, small folk art pieces and local honey.

Featured Store: Thrift and New Shoppe

THRIFT AND NEW SHOPPE


THRIFT AND NEW SHOPPE--602 9th Avenue. (212)265-3087. Junk shop on 9th and 43rd St. antique glassware, pitchers, teacups, various thrift-style assortments of stuff. Mike is the very helpful owner. Ideal for set dressing in bulk. Lots of vases, albums and books. He has watches and also does watch repair. There are lots of odd things--small glass bottles, Hummel figurines, Depression glass. It all depends on the moment and what he has. Prices are good. 3-11.

Featured Store: Abracadabra W. 21st St.

Abracadabra

(Meat case full of heads and feet)

Abracadabra is a gore and magic superstore in Chelsea. They have great novelties items and magic kits they have a gigantic selection of wings, Halloween costumes and all the rubber body parts you could ever want. The problem with Abracadabra is that if you call for a specific item, they will tell you on the phone that they have it when they might not. 19 W. 21st St. (212)627-5194. Bundles of good-looking theatrical money. $10,000 for about $13. www.abracadabrasuperstore.com

Featured Outfit: The Specialists, Greene Street

The Specialists Ltd.

(a wall of cutlasses)


Weapons Specialists has recently renamed themselves The Specialists. This outfit is an amazing specialty prop house, located in SoHo. It is the best rental gun place in New York City. You can rent all sorts of fake guns--machine guns, cop rigs, handguns. They make their own armor now, and they also rent paintball guns. They have also started to move into different area, like making fake pills for movie shoots (edible and non-edible). The staff is motivated and courteous. A good contact is the prop specialist Steve Genna. The office is (212)94-7696. www.thespecialistsltd.com.com. 33 Greene Street, Suite 1W (Entrance at 80 Grand Street). They open at 9am.

Featured Store: Party City, West 14th Street

(Chili-pepper party lights)

PARTY CITY

Party City at 38 W. 14th Street (212-744-9000, partycity.com) is an amazing wonderland of cheap, themed crap from China. Think of a holiday and they usually cover it well. Cinco de Mayo? Themed banners, straw hats and pinatas. Superbowl Sunday? Matching plates and napkins, football candles and more banners. They have an extensive tiki section, as well. Who knew that so many New Yorkers liked to throw tiki parties? They have small helium cannisters for blowing up mylar balloons and extensive selections of color-matched paper plates, cups and plastic knives and forks. Under no circumstances should you trust the website. As the one smart employee told me in his Southern drawl, "We have a lot on the website that we don't have in stores." At the Manhattan store, they must beat the staff regularly, because they are a pretty sullen bunch.

Featured Store: Born Again Religious Articles

BORN AGAIN at 500 LaGuardia Place used to be a store fully devoted to religious articles and icons. Now three-quarters of the sore is devoted to crappy tourist clothing, but on the left-hand side of the store is three or four cases of kitchy religious items, mixed in with real antiques. I recently bought an brass incense boat (new, $89), but they also had an older tarnished one (@$250).

Born Again has Judaica items, Catholic religious pieces and Greek and Russian Orthodox icons. The selection is small but good. The store is located a block south of Bleecker Street and is also known as the International Boutique. (212)677-0705.