Kickstarter Pick: BushwickBK.com Relaunches As The Community-Funded 'Bushwick News'

 

When neighborhood blog BushwickBK decided to call it a day back in October, it took us a while to break our habit of constantly clicking over to the website for the latest local news. That's because the stories they published usually weren't something that you'd find anywhere else. They opted for locally-focused, locally-sourced reporting, from detailed community board rundowns and fascinating pieces like this global story about 99 cent stores to profiles of area musicians, restaurant reviews (and of course, some features on yours truly.) These types of articles aren't just copied-and-pasted press releases or SEO-maximized blog posts, but real journalism that requires time and legwork.

That sort of intensive, in-depth reporting isn't always the most profitable work, and that's what led BushwickBK founder Jeremy Sapienza decided to take a break, possibly for good. The resulting void was quite a big one, and after a few months of planning, Sapienza and the BushwickBK crew decided to try out a more community-supported approach. Earlier this month they launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring the website back to life as The Bushwick News, and they're offering a heap of rewards for supporters, from beverages at a variety of local establishments for a modest $5 to original works by some local artists and other goodies for more sizable donations.

While the $40,000 that they are aiming to raise is indeed an big sum, it's a testament to their ambitious goal of being more than just a blog:

We know 40K is a spicy meatball. But it's also a test of what can be done. We need to know that the community is willing to support our work. This is a huge undertaking!

For more info and a great visual explanation of what they want to do, watch their fundraising campaign video after the jump. We're huge fans of Kickstarter as a means for funding all sorts of awesome projects, but we think this campaign is particularly exciting, as it's a unique local resource funded by local businesses and local citizens through a new economic model. If that excites you too, help out and get some sweet rewards in return.

Now for the video—we really want to know what's down in that manhole!

-- John Ruscher