About The 5T Brief

The Five Towns is an information-rich place served by information-poor plumbing. Real news here travels by WhatsApp broadcast, shul announcement and word of mouth, which is fast but unsearchable and gone in a day. The papers that do cover the area are weekly print operations whose websites came second. This is an attempt at the other thing: something quick to read, easy to search, and correct.

What we cover. Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, Hewlett and Inwood, plus North Woodmere, Atlantic Beach, Far Rockaway and West Hempstead when the news crosses over. Village boards, the school districts, road work, the Far Rockaway branch, openings and closings on Central Avenue, and the community organisations that do the actual work around here.

How it is written. We report on the news rather than reprinting it. When a story comes from another outlet we name that outlet and link to it. We do not reproduce anyone else’s wording or photography.

How it is paid for. Local advertising and newsletter sponsorships, the same way the papers here have always been paid for. Every sponsored item is labeled as sponsored, in words, not just by shading. Directory listings are free, and paying for a featured listing buys position and a link, never coverage. Nobody can buy a story or kill one.

Getting in touch. One address for everything: editor@5tbrief.com. News tips, corrections, simchas, advertising questions, directory fixes. It reaches a person.

This site is new and it says so where it is still filling in. Anything marked as a placeholder is a placeholder.