This is me on vacation. Which is where I am now. And I'm still working!

It’s been a while since I last updated everyone on how the site is doing….

It’s doing well! TribecaCitizen.com averages around 10,000 unique visitors and 40,000 page views each month (that skews way upward when something celebrity-related happens, such as when Lady Gaga popped by Duane Park restaurant). People spend about two minutes on the site each time they come. The twice-weekly newsletter has just under 500 subscribers, and Tribeca Citizen has 530 Facebook fans. I’m lagging a bit on Twitter—185 followers—but I’m getting more into it.

Thank you for reading! When I started the site, I found it difficult to get excited about writing because no one was reading. Now, knowing that people are paying attention, it’s much more gratifying.

People often ask whether I can make a living from Tribeca Citizen, and the answer is no: I have other gigs for that. I think of the site as my “jobby”—it’s as time-consuming as a job but it pays like a hobby. Perhaps that will change someday. In the meantime, I need your support. I don’t mean you should send me money*. What I mean is:

••• If you know anyone who lives or works in the neighborhood, please tell them about the site. Forward the email newsletter, share an item on Facebook (just click on the word “share” under the item and you can choose to whom you’ll be recommending it), retweet posts on Twitter. If you have access to a database of locals, be a mensch and send out a note touting TribecaCitizen.com. If you have a business and you’d be OK with displaying a stack of postcards, let me know. If you have some other idea for getting the word out, I’m all ears.

••• If you have interest in contributing in any way—writing; taking photos; drawing; helping with technology; designing business cards (because I need them!), T-shirts, postcards, or other stuff; whatever—drop me a line at tribecacitizen@gmail.com. If you’ve ever considered starting a blog about some aspect of life in greater Tribeca, it could work nicely as a blog-within-a-blog—with a built-in readership—on Tribeca Citizen. Say you volunteer in the neighborhood: You could write a weekly journal about the experience. Say you love history and want to research one building’s story at at time: Fantastic! Say you’re a disaffected mother ticked off at the other mothers: You could write anonymously about what you see. I can think of a hundred interesting topics and surely one would be right—perhaps even beneficial—for you. You’ll be the envy of all your friends, and really, what greater pleasure in life is there?

••• Of course you can always just send hot tips and juicy gossip to tribecacitizen@gmail.com. Your anonymity will be respected.

••• If you have a business in the neighborhood, please remember to email me when you have news. I try to follow where I can—Facebook, Twitter, looking for flyers posted in windows—but I won’t catch everything.

••• Finally, please consider advertising on the site. It’s extraordinarily cheap—for the time being—and you’re guaranteed to reach the in-the-know clientele you want. The details on how it works are here. I’m also open to creative ways to help local businesses and organizations raise their profile. (If you’re interested in offering an exclusive discount, for instance, let’s talk.) Finally, I’m thinking of introducing classified advertising; the text-only ads will run grouped together and look like a regular editorial item (though they’ll be identified as ads, naturally). Get in touch if you want to be part of the pilot program.

Yours,

Erik Torkells
Editor
tribecacitizen@gmail.com

* But feel free! Send me enough and you can dress me up however you like.