Four Years of Clinton Hill Blog
/I consider this date, July 19, to be the official anniversary of Clinton Hill Blog. Four years ago today, I started this site thinking I'd do a few posts and then run out of things to write about. What I didn't know was that I was about to embark on an extraordinary journey that would teach me more than I ever thought I'd know about Clinton Hill, would introduce me to countless new friends and neighbors, many wonderful local business owners, and a fascinating community of bloggers throughout New York City. One of my favorite early memories of writing this site was my first post about the Adelphi Station post office (apologies that the photos no longer work- lost in translation over platform changes and such). The response was an indicator that I wasn't alone in my observations and that there was a real need for a local blog - a place for people to talk about the things they loved and the things they wanted to improve, a curiosity about local history and businesses both old and new, and a desire to connect to their community in a variety of ways.
Other favorite CHB memories include the tour of Kelso brewery, our tour of the set of Hammered, Tillie's Community Mural "You Are Here," our 2008 Buying Local Gift Guide for the holidays, CHB Interviews (the first was Kath Hansen, PUPS founder!), and this haunted house.
In the years since starting the site, I've taken on more challenging professional jobs that require much more of my time and energy, I've gotten married and earned a graduate degree. Over the last year especially, it's been much more challenging to get a post up almost every single weekday, but I've been driven by my love for the neighborhood and the support of readers. Keeping CHB up has been even more difficult this last month, as Mr. Lesterhead and I have just moved to a bigger place, outside of Clinton Hill.
I feel strongly that local blogs be written by people living in the communities they write about. Given our recent move and CHB's fourth anniversary, today feels like a natural stopping point for the site, at least in its current incarnation.
Maintaining this site hasn't always been easy. Over the years the blogosphere has become more cut-throat and less of a collective support system, and occasionally a free-for-all for anonymous nasties (which has made it difficult some days to remember why I stated the site in the first place). My goal for the site has always been sharing local stories and focusing on residents and businesses who have made a positive contribution to the neighborhood, and I think I've been mostly successful in maintaining that vision. Despite many assuming that my vision has been journalistic, I've always thought of myself more as a non-fiction writer.
I find it hard to imagine that I would never post here again, so this is not necessarily goodbye forever or completely. I don't think I'd be able to stay away completely if I tried! However, today will mark an end to regular daily posting.
For all of my loyal readers over the last four years, thank you so much for your support, tips and comments.
