Flatbush Family Network: The E-Mail Group That Created a Community

When Ellen Wong started a Yahoo group for new parents living in Ditmas Park back in 2003, it had a handful of members and was used to share diaper coupons and set up play dates.

Nine years later the group, Flatbush Family Network, has more than 2,200 members and has broadened in scope to encompass a wide variety of needs and interests.

While there are the expected ads for baby items for sale or needed, nanny shares and pediatrician recommendations, there are also more unusual requests.

In a single week, one person asks if anyone has a spare piece of drywall before she heads to Home Depot, while another wants to know where to buy stamps on Cortelyou Road. One person asks where to get a cuckoo clock repaired, while another seeks out office furniture for a nonprofit.

In January, members rallied online around a beloved mechanic who thought he might be losing his job at a local service station, with one member going so far as to find him a new job at another station (though the mechanic ended up keeping his original job).

“I never imagined it would have as much of a broad scope as it does now,” said Wong. “There are all sorts of folks from all walks of life that come on with all different needs. There are issues concerning a small child, to housing advice to ‘Is the train running this week?’ It really is about family and community in a broad sense and I love that about it.”

“I really do feel like that’s the reason there’s staying power for the group—that it just seems to absorb whatever needs the group has, rather than staying as a 0-3 listserv,” she added.

For area mom Rosaly Kozbelt, the breadth of topics is one of the things she likes about the group. “I can usually find out about a place opening/closing, where the nearest X (e.g. vet, doctor, mechanic) is, hear a review of how helpful a new business is, or learn about where a child friendly doctor/playground/restaurant can be found,” she said, via e-mail.

Rachel Stack said the listserv was actually one of the reasons she moved to the area. ”I started subscribing when we lived in Pennsylvania in order to learn more about the area,” she said via e-mail. “I've made good friends through FFN and found everything from our preschool to our vet.”

Wong, who lives on Argyle Road between Beverly and Cortelyou and works as a fundraiser for the ACLU, began the online group after having her first son, Yates.

“When I was on maternity leave, I found I had to go to Park Slope to connect with other parents with small children and it just seemed kind of ridiculous. I knew there were other kids here—I saw them around,” said Wong, who is known on the listserv under her maiden name, Ellen Moncure,

With area moms Alexandra Reddish, Constance Lombardo and Kathleen Felix she started the group, giving it the name of a defunct area parents group that used to rent a space on Newkirk Avenue.

“In a way I liked it when it first started—you knew everyone on the group. I never thought it would grow to be so big and popular,” said Reddish. But, she added, the current form has its merits as well. “It’s great for the neighborhood too to have such a nice resource.”

Over the years there have been some fiery discussions over such topics as giving juice to toddlers, to vaccinations to breast feeding, where Wong has had to intercede. But most surprising to Wong, who is know on the listserv under her maiden name, Ellen Moncure, is how easy it’s been to moderate the group, despite its huge size.

“People have responsibly and thoughtfully shared their opinion in a way that for the most part has been really respectful, and I think it says a lot about the people in the neighborhood,” she said.