From White Trash to Aliens on 5th Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Aliens of Brooklyn is returning to the East Village. 

Owner-artist Joseph Angel Tijerina opens his new shop today (Friday!) at 304 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, the longtime home of White Trash, the vintage furniture and home-furnishings shop that recently closed. 

"It's an honor to be a part of this space," Tijerina told us about the handoff from White Trash. "I love the architecture and energy of the space." 

Tijerina said he was offered the storefront about three months ago and is happy to be back in the neighborhood — and close to his previous East Village location. 

Aliens of Brooklyn opened its first storefront in the spring of 2022 at 305 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, following nearly a decade of selling at pop-ups and flea markets. 

In our 2022 Q&A, Tijerina talked about the East Village's artistic history and the welcome he received from residents.

"In my eyes, the East Village is always a place where the artists migrate, and I find that sacred and want to honor the history already created here," he said at the time.

The Ninth Street shop closed in 2024, when Tijerina moved on to Chelsea Market. He later returned to Texas to help care for a family member. Tijerina continues to operate an Aliens of Brooklyn shop in Austin. 

Now, he's back in the East Village — this time on Fifth Street. 

The shop will be open seven days a week from noon to 11 p.m., with plans to stay open until 1 or 2 a.m. on weekends.

A final Friday night at White Trash

Photos by Stacie Joy 

White Trash, the vintage furniture and home furnishings shop at 304 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, had a memorable sendoff on Friday evening. 

Friends, customers and neighbors stopped by for music, drinks and snacks — and a pair of go-go dancers performing in the storefront windows...

The party marked the end of a 31-year run for the shop, which Stuart Zamsky and his wife, Kim Wurster, opened in 1995.

As we reported last month, Zamsky, 65, said a combination of increased rent, the condition of the storefront and the prospect of working even harder to keep the business profitable led him to decide that this was a good time to retire. 

On Friday night, though, the focus was on celebrating White Trash and its three decades on Fifth Street. 

A few scenes from the farewell... starting with Stuart and Kim's sons, Owen and Zach...

One last go-go for White Trash

White Trash is having a closing party this Friday evening (Aug. 14) at 304 E. Fifth St. between First and Second avenues. 

The farewell is set for 7-10 p.m., with go-go dancers, music, drinks and snacks. 

As we reported last month, the vintage furniture and home furnishings shop is closing after 31 years in business. 

Owner Stuart Zamsky, 65, who co-founded White Trash in 1995 with his wife Kim Wurster, told us that a combination of increased rent and the condition of the storefront, and the prospect of having to work even harder to keep the business profitable, led him to decide that this was a good time to retire. 

The invite bills Friday's gathering as a toast to "the end of an era." Indeed!

After 31 years, White Trash is closing on 5th Street

Photos courtesy of Stuart Zamsky & @WhiteTrashNYC 

White Trash, the vintage furniture and home furnishings shop at 304 E. Fifth St. just east of Second Avenue, is closing next month after 31 years in business. 

Owner Stuart Zamsky said the shop's last day is expected to be around Aug. 10. To help clear inventory, White Trash is holding its first-ever 25%-off storewide sale. 

A bittersweet decision 

"It's definitely a bittersweet moment," Zamsky told us. 

Several factors led to the decision.

"Yes, the rent is going up, but not so much that it would be impossible — enough so that it makes work that much harder," he said. "I'm 65 and wasn't sure that I wanted to be grinding even more to make the business profitable." 

He also cited the building itself, noting that the shop gets extremely cold in the winter and needs significant renovation. 

"When I added up those factors, it seemed that this would be a good time to retire," he said. 

Zamsky and his wife, Kim Wurster, who co-founded White Trash in 1995 (below), hope to travel more. While they expect to remain involved in the resale business in some capacity, they're not yet sure what that will look like.

A furniture store — and more

White Trash began with two actors who loved vintage furniture and hoped to leave behind survival jobs.

"We never thought it would become a multi-decade endeavor that would provide enough stability to raise a family," Zamsky said. 

Their two sons grew up in the shop, spending afternoons there after school before eventually becoming part-time employees. 

"The people we've met whose places we've helped furnish have been one of our great joys," he said. "We're still friends with our very first workers — now adults with their own children."

A neighborhood gathering place 

Over the years, White Trash became more than a place to buy mid-century furniture. 

"It became a 'third space' for us and our neighbors," Zamsky said. 

After becoming active in the Fifth Street Block Association, he said the shop evolved into an informal meeting place where neighbors discussed local issues, organized around neighborhood concerns and simply caught up with one another. 

"It was about as small-town as one could get." 

But the sense of community extended beyond Fifth Street.

"Whether it was famous actors, writers, comedians, musicians or folks just looking for some good shopping, our greatest pleasure was extending some hospitality, sharing our knowledge of stuff and where to get it, where to have it refinished or reupholstered."

A lasting memory 

Among Zamsky's favorite memories is creating the shop's distinctive Airstream trailer sign with his late father, a former mechanical engineer. 

"He helped me source the metal, construct it and hang it," Zamsky recalled. "He was fearless.

"I can still see him up there on the ladder at the top of the second-floor windows hanging the supports."

White Trash is open Monday-Saturday from 2-8 p.m.