About Clinton Hill Blog

Clinton Hill Blog was one of NYC’s first hyperlocal blog sites. The site posted regularly (usually daily) between 2006 and 2010. Always written by and for local residents, the blog profiled local businesses, architecture and culture, solved local mysteries and documented change.

While the blog may publish posts now and then, regular posting ended on July 19, 2010. The site will remain live for the foreseeable future. Please search the archives, leave a comment, enjoy.

 

From Founder and Editor Robin Lester Kenton (aka Lesterhead):

I moved to Clinton Hill, Brooklyn in April 2004. I was instantly thrilled with the amount of things to do and things to see, but became frustrated with the lack of updated information and resources available to find out what was going on in the area.

Rather than wait for someone else to do the work, I decided to do it myself. Clinton Hill Blog was officially launched in July 2006.

In the four years that I ran this site, I focused on musings, photos and writing about the local things that fascinated me — the site was never meant to be a comprehensive news source, but more of an online narrative of day-to-day life in the neighborhood. I always considered myself as a non-fiction writer and never a journalist.

My time writing CHB introduced me to many different aspects of the neighborhood, as well as countless neighbors and business owners. I spent a wonderful six years in Clinton Hill, before getting married and moving farther east into Brooklyn. I still get homesick.

During my time writing, many local blogs came and went. Every voice  made for a richer, more vibrant online local community. While online news coverage has become much more comprehensive in the last few years, I really miss those early days when people were doing it themselves and writing from the heart. (Or maybe I just miss the days when I had enough time to write for myself, and from the heart.)

Previous Contributors:

Lesterhead, Founder and Editor: Robin Lester Kenton was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. She moved to NYC after receiving a B.S. in Television, Radio and Film from Syracuse University and has lived in Clinton Hill since 2004. She has worked as a marketer for major record labels as well as a travel writer and media planner. Lester Kenton has written for Curbed and Eater, is a freelance photographer and received a graduate degree in Urban Sociology at the New School for Social Research. Currently, she works on strategic outreach initiatives in the field of urban planning. She is also an accomplished tap dancer. “Lesterhead” is a childhood nickname.

adamreadwrite, our eyes and ears on the neighborhood’s East Side: Long story short: grew up in Baltimore and went to school at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. After graduating in May, (that would put him at 22 fragile years young) he accepted a job at Young Audiences New York, based in Midtown Manhattan, where he schedules arts programming for NYC public schools. His entrance into the working world started on July 1st, 2008 and he punctually arrived at his Clinton Hill residence on June 30th. Adam’s musical tastes run from Charles Ives to Arthur Russell to Flying Lotus and he’s having trouble tearing himself away from Roberto Bolaño’s new book 2666. He’s said too much. Brevity should not be expected from him, in a good way.

mayven, writing on local politics and the G+L scene: lived in CH since 2003 (in brooklyn since 1992 and in NYC since 1983).

Suzanne, covering restaurants and other local happenings: Suzanne has lived in Clinton Hill since early 2007. She is a curriculum developer and painter.

Kim on Clinton, writing about neighborhood history: After 12 years on the Lower East Side, Kim moved to Clinton Hill in September of 2006 – and within two weeks was wondering why in the hell she waited so long. In addition to being an armchair history buff, she is also madly in love with the Farmer’s Market and the knitting group that meets every Wednesday, and is looking forward to digging up more nuggets about the past.

FiftyFifty_g, writing on the local music scene and more: Gina moved to the hood in fall of 2007 and loves it so much she can’t imagine living anywhere else. She’s in an indie rock band called Palmyra (myspace.com/palmyramusic) by night and works as an editor at an online book retailer by day. She recently started putting on small acoustic house shows in her basement. She also has a music blog called One Sweet Song (www.onesweetsong.blogspot.com), which was just announced as a finalist for a Bloggie.

Georgia Kral, contributing her observations on the neighborhood: a freelance reporter/writer/photographer in Clinton Hill. She writes for The New York Times, Spinner.com and the NY Press and works part-time at On The Issues Magazine twittering, MySpace and Facebooking and writing. Georgia has a Master’s in Journalism from CUNY. She lived in both Williamsburg (ugh) and Red Hook (yay!) prior to coming to Clinton Hill.

Van, heading a column called “Lunchtime with Tillie:” a five-year resident of the Clinton Hill/Fort Greene area, new dad and recently laid off from working at a magazine. While figuring out life at home with baby, he’ll be scouting kid-friendly lunch spots and sharing his experiences.

Stephanie, writing neighbor profiles, covering local politics and discovering unusual bits of history: She’s lived in Ft. Greene and Clinton Hill for over five years and loves the area. She has a day job at a German bank in Midtown and spends her free time volunteering, pursuing a path towards Anusara yoga teaching, serving on the boards of two nonprofits, and working on freelance writing and translation projects.

Photo Contributors

Site Design: Thinkso Creative

Thinkso Creative is a branding and marketing communications firm based in New York City. We write, design, produce, implement, and consult. And we have fun doing it. For more information or a for a peek at our portfolio, visit thinkso.com.