We’re building better coverage of Park Slope
Hi, we’re Nicole and John, a married couple who have lived in Park Slope for 20 years. Every Thursday, we send out a free newsletter that tells you what’s going in Park Slope and the neighborhoods a walk away.
We’ve been doing this events newsletter since 2023, and a few thing are clear:
Readers really want neighborhood coverage. Our audience has stayed incredibly engaged–most of you open the newsletter every week.
We can make the Park Slope newsletter big enough to reach everyone in the neighborhood. People happily sign up for a free events newsletter. If we wanted to reach 100,000 people in and around Park Slope, we could.
Neighborhood reporting from big publishers may not be coming back to Park Slope. You may remember the bygone time when startups like Patch or DNAinfo or tabloids like the Daily News or the Post had great devoted reporting around Park Slope. It’s not clear if anything will fill that cultural & reporting gap.
Most independent neighborhood creators burnout eventually. You may also remember homegrown outlets like Park Slope Stoop, F*cked in Park Slope and Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn. Usually a neighborhood news outlet thrives–and makes the neighborhood more fascinating in the process–until its creators burn out. We want to build The Walk more sustainable.
And that all leads us to our biggest takeaway: Our neighborhood will get the deeply-informed coverage it deserves if neighbors support it directly.
We can do this. We’re going to do this.
A $60 subscription is an investment in better coverage of Park Slope
As we raise more revenue, we’ll invest more in free coverage of our community. Here’s how
With our first 300 paid subscribers, we’ll improving our free events newsletter
We love doing this newsletter and we want to hire a freelancer so we can do more.
We really want to dig into continuing education: There are as many great classes for adults as there are camps for kids in our neighborhood. Wouldn’t it be nice to see guides to camps and classes in one place before they fill up?
We want more robust guides and maps around holidays, Best Of lists, and way to volunteer.
We’d also find excuses to do more reviews and interviews so that we can cover not just events, but give a sense of the culture we have in the neighborhood.
We also want the newsletter to go on forever. 300 paying subscribers would ensure it will.
From 301 to 1,500 paid subscribers, we’ll invest in a free podcast that explores the mysteries of the neighborhood
Three Brooklyn neighbors answer questions neighborhood mysteries you wonder about. Like the Mystery Show and Search Engine podcasts, they’ll do our best work when you send your best questions.
What exactly is going on with real estate prices in Windsor Terrace?
Why does a building on Prospect Avenue claim to be a Swiss consulate?
Is the Park Slope Armory actually haunted?
Who’s been drawing these graffiti faces across the neighborhood and why?
The team that would launch this podcast include two award-winning reporters and a public radio producer. We need 1,500 paying subs to support these neighborhood talents to publish twice a month.
From 1,500 to 5,000 paid subscribers, we’ll invest in a reporter and editor to cover the neighborhood
Original reporting is our overall longterm goal, though we’re realistic that it is the hardest thing to do and sustain. To do effective work in the neighborhood, a reporter needs time and support and legal protection. There is a dearth of reliable and locally sourced information in the neighborhood: there’s not enough crime reporting, features, business profiles, guides, explainer or breaking news.
In the event of a neighborhood emergency like a storm or a lockdown, there’s not one person you know you can reach out to to get you reliable information.
Today bad information is free–rumors, AI slop, and even well-meaning folks sharing the wrong things on social media. Good information you can trust requires a reporter. We haven’t identified that reporter (or editor) yet, but as a neighborhood we’ve been blessed with brilliant reporters for years. If you help us build it, they will come.
Can this really work?
Yes. Alternative weekly newspapers like The Village Voice used to build great original reporting off a foundation of events coverage. And it’s not unheard for local newsrooms to convert 5% of their population into paying subscribers. We can do this together.
What do I get for my $60?
Above all, you get to be a benefactor for neighborhood media here in Park Slope, Gowanus and Windsor Terrace. You’re supporting this growing team, and keeping our coverage free for you and your neighbors.
You will also gain access to our Google spreadsheet of events, for when you need to plan a night out a month from now.
We’ll also communicate with you as the critical stakeholders you are. We’ll send regular insider updates from us about how the campaign is going (Are we close to unlocking the podcast? Can we do some reporting with freelancers?) plus the occasional ask for help (Does anyone know a great designer or web developer?) and invitations to get together.
A Founding Membership also comes with a bespoke sweatshirt, mug or thermos
Behold, our daughter's Cricut machine, which allows her to make irons and decals for just about anything! If you support The Park Slope Walk as a founding member, we’ll make swag just for you. Want an oversize mug? A cozy hoodie? We’ll correspond with you and then make it.
And the coverage I support will be accessible to everyone?
Yes. As coverage expands on the Park Slope Walk, we’ll stick to four values:
We keep coverage free to everyone. When you support us, you’re supporting a service for all your neighbors.
We deliver information in the format that works best. Not just free, but freely accessible. We think a newsletter is the best way to tell you about events. When we do a podcast, we’ll tell the stories that are best for that format.
We rely on local voices. This means Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Gowanus and other neighborhoods a walk away.
We don’t ask for freebies from local businesses. As we deepen our coverage, we want to say it out loud.
Let’s build something special and lasting.
Nicole and John
