$100 for 100 issues of The New York Groove
Not having an evil billionaire owner means we rely on you
Today marks a very special occasion: the 100th issue of The New York Groove! That's not counting members-only content, breaking news and other assorted missives, but the milestone still feels major. This week marks the 100th time we've sent a full weekly email into your inboxes, and attention must be paid.
That's 100 issues since we launched in July 2023, with hundreds stories of helpful and fun service journalism, put together with care by and for people who actually live here. We're proud to be financially supported almost entirely by our members who believe in paying for journalism to make a better city; no billionaire backers pulling the strings around these parts. It costs money to do that — and to grow even bigger for the next 100 issues.
Our work remains free for everyone in the city to access and enjoy. So to help us celebrate, we're going to come right out and ask: Can you give us $100? You can easily spend $100 on anything these days, from dinner and drinks to a moderate-sized grocery store haul. But for us, that amount can make a big difference:
We ideally hope you'll join us as a member, but there are a bunch of ways you can chip in $100.
- Join us as a member at the $100/year True Believer level.
- Join us as a member at the $100/month Ace level.
- Hit us with a one-time $100 contribution.
- Or even just buy $100 worth of our sick new Summer in the City merch.
Why we're making this ask
The Groove has a pretty unique model among worker-owned news sites, in that we've opted to make the vast majority of our stories free, because we think they're genuinely helpful to our fellow New Yorkers and we want everyone to be able to access them.
We rely on the income from our paid memberships to pay our freelance contributors, throw cool parties, pay for our hosting and other fees, and generally keep the lights on around here. We want your money, sure, but mostly we want you invested in keeping this kind of local journalism alive. Every dollar goes back into the site, allowing us time to work with new writers, take more photos, plan more events and whip up more info-packed social media graphics.
For a quick refresher on the work you'd be supporting, we've offered up unfortunately-still-relevant guides on dealing with ICE and protesting safely; handy cheat sheets for crucial local elections; tips on navigating this mess of a housing market; advice on finding tons of free stuff including memberships, event tickets and even a dang air conditioning unit; strategies for finding honest-to-god IRL community in this city, and getting off the cursed internet (at least some of the time). We've also gotten to meet a bunch of you in-person at events like our recurring happy hours, annual No Office Holiday Party, Vibe Check weather events, to name a few.
Oh, and did we mention that in addition to the warm fuzzy feeling of supporting worker-owned local news, our paid members get sick perks? Think free and discounted event tickets, members-only stories, access to our FOMO calendar of stuff to do in this city, merch and drink discounts, and more.
Our mission from the jump has been to help readers demystify, navigate and build community in this city — to Be Better New Yorkers — and two years in, we're proud to say we've done that. We're so thrilled to be doing this work, and are having a blast putting together a site and a community that we hope has been a blast for you, too.
We know budgets are nightmarishly tight these days, and if you can't swing it, we're still happy to have you here — just make sure you're subscribed to our free newsletter, which also really helps us grow.
But if you've got room in your budget, we frankly think that supporting independent media is one of the best things a person can do with their hard-earned cash (yes, we're biased, but we're also right!). Help us build an even bigger and better Groove, and we can't wait to see you for the next 100 issues. 🫶
The Groove
Comments ()