Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch Celebrates its First Birthday

One year ago today Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch was born. You might not have noticed, because many of you were still digging out of the. But we spent our first few weeks in the area interviewing the and Supervisor of Cortlandt, visiting the    taking beautiful photographs of the majestic riverfront (like the one with this article) and writing about the new successful

In the past year, we've posted more than 3,700 stories to Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch. We've covered , a politicsand community . We added a section for local people to post their blogs. We've developed an extensive calendar of events and announcements.

In that year, I've had the chance to connect with communities that surround the town I grew up in (Yorktown) that I originally knew little about. I have met people that I will never forget, made friendships that I will always cherish and written stories and created videos that have really moved me.  

This community provided us with the opportunity and the privilege to climb on board the with Captain Reynolds, cover Peekskill’s tour the estate (with McAndrews himself), interview aand meet the Peekskill Red Devils girls basketballcheck out, see what it looks like when and what it looks like when a rebuilds, and feel the energy of during

We have had a delicious taste of , admired the woodwork at the new investigated L. Frank tracked down a man wa baby and mother from a burning car (our thoughts go out to the friends and family of that local hero, Frank Matranga, who died last month), met who are finding ways to "come home," and been a part of important awareness events as well as fun and the first historic among others.

There have been many council and town meetings, fires, arrests and less pleasant stories as well, but on Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch’s first birthday, I am focusing on the positive and stories that were enjoyable to cover. And none of the articles could have happened or been covered if it were not for you.

You have been and continue to be an integral part of Patch; in fact, we need you.

Help celebrate our birthday by thinking of Patch as a daily information necessity: Here are some ways for you to become part of that daily information:

Comment on articles: We love discussion and smart debate. We welcome reader comments about small issues we may have missed. Tell us about new initiatives, school accomplishments, neighborhood issues. Don't like our coverage? Tell us. (No cursing.)

Add photos: We want your best shots. Add them to our gallery. You can also add photos to articles by clicking "Upload" near the photos we've featured. (Poof.)

Sign up for Newsletters: Get a daily summary of Peekskill-Cortlandt-specific news delivered directly to your inbox daily or once a week. The site is updated multiple times each day, so news is always fresh. Scroll to the bottom of the home page and click: "Newsletters."

Post events to the Calendar: Get the word out about your events by adding them to the calendar. Or use the calendar to browse what's going on around town.

Become a blogger: Peekskill and Cortlandt experts in their fields and community members blog weekly on the site. Have a subject area of expertise? Send me an email and apply to be a blogger.

Rate local businesses in the Directory: The Places tab features every business, school and organization in town. Use the section to find phone numbers, addresses, hours or to rate your experience there.

Make Announcements: Need volunteers? Get married? Lose a pet? Announce it in our announcements section so the community knows.