Damek.

This city really is amazing sometimes.

As you may or may not have gathered from posts here on my website, I’m helping start a local environmental group (Upper Green Side) in my neighborhood. We’ve helped bring farmers markets to the area, and now we’re working on attracting new members and trying to bring proper bike lanes to the neighborhood.

I built the website, and have been having a blast promoting it. My own site is personal and I’ve never put any effort into worrying about readers, but this new site needs people to visit it, so I’ve been learning a lot finding new ways to attract readers.

The best part about the site — and the group — is when other people take initiative and work on their own. It’s something I’ve sort of been relearning to do myself — like, I don’t need the group’s permission or direction to get active and flyer or whatever. Our membership is very small so far, but the few active members are also taking initiative in creative ways, which is fascinating to me. The internet is proving to be a very powerful networking and empowering tool, and I think the people of New York are uniquely ready for changes in the city and their neighborhoods. Other sites about New York have spontaneously linked to us, and one “global” eco-site (Treehugger.com) has featured us, to our surprise.

But the point of all this is a strange event that happened today. I received an email from a familiar name — a woman I went to high school with. She found I was living in New York because she heard about Upper Green Side through Treehugger.com. And she lives in the same neighborhood, roughly 7 blocks from me. And she wants to join the group.

So, I’ll say it again, this city really is amazing sometimes. And I’m finally starting to feel at home here. (But no, Alex, that doesn’t mean I’ve given up the idea of moving far away someday. )