After Burglary, New Computers for Textile Arts Center

The night of July 21 went like any other night to the team at the Textile Arts Center on Carroll Street. But when manager Owyn Ruck came in the next morning, although nothing really seemed out of place, someone noticed three of their Mac laptops had been mysteriously been “moved.”

Turns out, TAC had been the victim of a burglary, despite the fact that only the center's laptops were missing.

Immediately, the team issued a call for help on fracturedatlas.org, a non-profit that assists arts organizations with the business side of things, as well as info and resources on necessities such as health and liability insurance.

The donation period went through the August 24, and potential donations ranged from $5 (“a Single Thread”) to $500 (“a Golden Loom”). Within only two hours, however, the group had almost already reached their $3,500 goal, thanks to a single generous individual, and others who made small donations of $5 to $20.

Since then, TAC has exceeded their goal, raising $3,580.

“Now we can get our new Mac laptops,” said Ruck.

Indeed, there seems to be a rash of robberies in the Park Slope and Gowanus areas as of late. According to other tenants at 505 Carroll, eight burglaries had occurred in the building in the past two months.

Ruck was told by police, who she said responded quickly, that they would be doing a search for the stolen goods online and at local pawn shops. So far, no arrests have been made. 

Thankfully, supporters came to the rescue, and fast, by heeding the call for help and giving more than enough needed to replace the electronics, which were essential.

“Please help us get back to our very busy and productive lives running this growing arts organization by helping us to replace our missing laptops!” TAC posted on their campaign page on fracturedatlas.org.

Owyn says the team stays late often, sometimes until around 9:30 p.m., and they had never felt their safety was compromised. Often they would continue the night at ther favorite local watering hole, .

She said they never feared for their safety, but she is grateful for the speedy help, and now they'll definitely be taking more preventative measures and more precautions.

"There's been support from the building and it feels good. But it's definitely kind of a wake up call," she said.

“You just never know," she said.

For more information, visit the campaign page at fracturedatlas.org.