It has been described as "telling the stories considered too small for the major newspapers to bother with." Exclusives such as a 27,000 gallon oil spill "that the authorities had not made public"[3] led to legal changes.[4]
The site began in 2017 when several hyper-local sites merged into one.[2] The publication mostly publishes material online, but has also published printed newspapers.[2]
A neighborhood news website named Ditmas Park Corner,[8] after five years on its own, was folded into Bklyner.[9] Prior to merging into Bklyner, Ditmas Park Corner funded paying a reporter to walk around the neighborhood.[8][10]
On 26 August 2021, editor Liena Zagare announced that Bklyner would cease publication on 10 September 2021 after over 50,000 articles, citing financial sustainability issues and a burnout caused in particular by the two years prior.[11]
Funding
Bklyner, although it carries ads, in 2017 "cut its staff from six full-time reporters to two-and-a-half, primarily because ad revenue had fallen"[1] and also sought "paying subscribers, even though the site remains free." As of early 2020, ads and subscribers was still the support model for free access.[12]