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N.Y. Dry Cleaner Offers Free Service To Job Seekers A sign in the window of First Professional Cleaners on the Upper East Side reads: "If you are unemployed and need an outfit clean for an interview, we will clean it for free." Owner Carlos Vasquez says the offer is a way to give back to the community.

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N.Y. Dry Cleaner Offers Free Service To Job Seekers

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N.Y. Dry Cleaner Offers Free Service To Job Seekers

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First Professional Cleaners on Manhattan's Upper East Side has a sign in the window that reads: "If you are unemployed and need an outfit clean for an interview, we will clean it for free."

The sign, which has been up since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has gathered renewed attention because of the economic downturn.

"I lost a lot of customers at that time," says owner Carlos Vasquez. "So we figured we'll give something back to the community, something from the heart ... because we lost so many people and so many people were unemployed" after the attacks.

Vasquez says people from as far away as the Bronx have called to inquire about the offer.

"That wasn't the idea when I put the sign up in the window," he says. "It's hard running a business in New York City as it is, but I will fulfill as many as I can, as many as I can afford to."