Local News Solves Local Problems

This piece is one of a series that will take you through THE CITY’s impact and values, and introduce you to our reporters.

We’ll be frank: Your support makes a big difference. Donations to THE CITY enable reporting that helps New Yorkers untangle this complicated city.

I’m associate editor Rachel Holliday Smith, and I’d like to tell you about how I approach helping New Yorkers understand this city.

Earlier this year, I created a guide for getting local problems fixed . The idea came from talking to lots of constituent services professionals who work with elected officials and community boards to solve New Yorkers’ problems. All of them know if you want to get stuff done, you can’t just call 311 and call it a day. You have to be a very squeaky wheel. I wanted to create a guide on how to be that person. We called it “Who to Yell At” because maintaining a sense of humor is an important part of success.

Your support also has a big impact by helping us bring our reporting directly to people who should see it. Earlier this year, THE CITY sorted and mailed 3,000 postcards letting people know about our series documenting NYC’s toxic Superfund sites .

The impact: Among the people who received it was a small business owner who showed up at our Open Newsroom event about the series. He was concerned about the safety of his shops, and ended up learning about vapor testing and getting connected to other advocates who he could learn from. If not for our postcard in the mail, he said he wouldn’t have known any of it.

There’s one more reason to become a recurring donor today: for our membership drive, a generous donor is matching all donations, of any size. Make your donation recurring and double the impact of today’s gift.

THE CITY is a nonprofit newsroom that serves the people of New York. Sign up for our SCOOP newsletter and get exclusive stories, helpful tips, a guide to low-cost events, and everything you need to know to be a well-informed New Yorker. DONATE to THE CITY

The post Local News Solves Local Problems appeared first on THE CITY - NYC News .