Dear Gothamist Reader, Today marks the start of Gothamist’s fall membership campaign, and, to start things off, we thought we’d give you a little peek behind the scenes. Over the last week, the three most-read stories on our site have been: Ben Feuerherd’s report on how half of all quality-of-life tickets written by the NYPD were thrown out by hearing officers last year Liam Quigley’s story on the rollout of public “robotoilets” as part of a program to provide New Yorkers with more publicly accessible restrooms Michael Sol Warren’s coverage of the spill of 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel by a data center in the New Jersey Meadowlands Public safety, quality of life, environmental issues: these are just three of the issues that are central to life in our region. In-depth local journalism that covers these issues is essential to staying informed—and that’s what the team at Gothamist brings you every day.  SUPPORT GOTHAMIST During this membership campaign, we’re asking you to support the local news you rely on to be a more informed member of our community. Because local news needs local support. Another thing that’s central to city life: schlepping. And what better for schlepping than a brand new tote bag! Support Gothamist today and we’ll thank you with our classic Gothamist rat tote bag . Right now during our fall membership campaign, you can get one with a donation of $8 per month or more. Don’t delay! Donations from readers are an important source of funding for Gothamist, and helps to keep our reporting strong and independent. If you’ve read any of the stories above in the last week—or even if you’ve just relied on Gothamist in the past— please consider making a financial contribution to support our work in the future. Thank you for reading, and thank you for your support.   Dan Fitchette Senior Director, Membership WNYC  |   WQXR  |   NJPR   |   GOTHAMIST WNYC STUDIOS  |   THE GREENE SPACE Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 TERMS OF USE You can update your PREFERENCES or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list. View this email in your browser.