Astoria Residents Reclaiming Our World (ARROW), a Queens-based nonprofit environmental group, will open what it is calling "the first building materials reuse center in New York City" in March in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.

A launch event is taking place Friday evening, March 7, and will include brief remarks by the ARROW staff, a tour of the facility and a reception with live music and refreshments.

ARROW's leaders say the re-use center is based on models up and running in other cities across the country such as The ReBuilding Center in Portland, Ore., and Urban Ore in Berkeley, Calif.

ARROW's center will offer building materials at discount prices for the individual homeowner and small contractor markets. Fixtures, doors, sinks, shelving, kitchen cabinets, sheetrock, lock sets and many other items will be offered for sale secondhand.

The center's inventory will be drawn from materials donated by New York residents and businesses. ARROW says it will accept bathroom fixtures, cabinets, light fixtures, metal and wood doors, windows, furniture, kitchen fixtures and small quantities of dimensional lumber. The group is already receiving materials at the site at 51-02 21st Street at Borden Ave. in Long Island City. Donations are accepted during limited hours and are tax deductible.