Community Corner

Introducing Dispatches to Park Slope

Patch will feature a new series of stories on the American Dream and what it has come to mean for our readers.

We're excited to inaugurate our new series for our Patch readers: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream."

Every day, the national media is full of stories about how American families, businesses, and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times. There are so many changes happening so fast that it's dizzying: national debates about unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise all touch on fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and our communities.

At Patch, we want to explore that conversation consistently so we can better understand how our neighbors are adjusting to the challenges and opportunities that surround us. This series is about how America works, how we realize our dreams and life as we know it. It's about how we approach our lives, our relationships, our jobs, our communities and ourselves.

Find out what's happening in Park Slopewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We know the American Dream is different for everyone. We know many of our friends, family and neighbors are working toward the goal of reaching their own dreams, helping others get there and nurturing not only themselves but their communities along the way.

Looking out across the nearly 900 Patch sites across the country, we see businesses holding their breath deciding whether to expand; college graduates returning home because they can't find jobs and senior citizens bringing boarders into their homes to help pay their bills.

Find out what's happening in Park Slopewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We also see bold new volunteer efforts, inspiring stories of local businesses that succeed because they innovated, and locals who've taken these trying times as a signal to engage more, not less, in their government.

At the purely local level, we want to know where Park Slope residents and those that work here fit along these fault lines.

Nationally, there's a debate about fiscal and monetary policy. Locally, we've reported on newly imposed tolls intended to help stabilize and stimulate the local economy, like new parking meter rates. With that national coversation comes the discussion on jobs availablity, which we recently saw in the form of outrage as workers rallied outside the still-rising Barclays Center to express anger over a lack of construction positions for Brooklyn residents.

Nationally, there's a debate about the education system, which is at the center of our dreams of a better life for our children. In the Park Slope area we have covered the , as well as the threat of proposed teacher cuts in city schools.

"Dispatches" will be built upon the compelling vignettes and snapshots we unearth in our Patch towns throughout the year.

And, of course, we want your help: Tell us what issues and what stories in Park Slope go to the heart of your American Dreams.

We want to hear from you Park Slope!


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