Dear fellow New Yorkers,

Welcome to THE CITY!

We’re an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.

In other words, we’re here for you! And we’re here for free.

We’re here to listen to your concerns, dig into them and deliver high-impact journalism.

We’re here to expose neglect, incompetence and outright corruption, while demanding ability on issues that affect a wide breadth of New Yorkers.

We’re here to help drive the civic conversation, drive news coverage and ultimately drive action.

Forgive us if that may sound a bit presumptuous. Some might also say we’re more than a tad arrogant for naming our news outlet THE CITY. (As in: If you have to ask which city, you’re in the wrong place.)

Local Matters

But for all our New York swagger, we arrive at a humbling moment.

We’re in the media capital of the nation, if not the world. Yet New Yorkers don’t get the consistency and quantity of local news we deserve, amid the loss of outlets like DNAinfo and The Village Voice, sharp cutbacks at storied newsrooms and steep challenges faced by the community and ethnic media.

We’re here because key leaders in New York civic, business and media circles recognize that strong local news is the lifeblood of civic activity – and came together to help found and fund this operation.

We’re here because top-notch journalists and operations staff believed enough in our mission to  our team.

But most of all, once again, we’re here because of you.

A Helping Hand

So how can you help? Sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Feel free to send us story tips.

You’re welcome – but not obligated – to become a member of THE CITY for whatever you can afford. (Our site has no paywall. There is a wall, however, between our funders and our editorial operations.)

You also can help us by suggesting a name for the pigeon in our logo.

But you can help most by reading our stories – and letting us know how we’re doing.

After all, we’re here for you – to produce the stories that matter most to New Yorkers. us as we work hard to make THE CITY all it can be.

Love,

THE CITY