Take a Peek at What Your Neighbors Are Doing

As 2011 quickly approaches, we at Fort Lee Patch want to make sure you know about all of the Patches in Bergen County that can help you stay connected to what's going on just outside your borders. Whether it's news that will affect your commute, events this weekend, or a directory of the shops and restaurants you visit, Patch wants to be your home base.

Below are links to our coverage of the blizzard that crippled North Jersey this past weekend. Take a look at some of the pictures and videos in those links, as our team of journalists were out in the thick of it. Also, please tell friends and relatives that you may have in one of our towns to check us out.

Of particular note are the beautiful shots that photographer Amanda Stevens took in downtown Glen Rock and an amazing time-lapse video of the storm that was submitted by a Teaneck Patch user.

More on what we've done in 2010 after we familiarize you with the Patch 13, which cover nearly 300,000 people in 15 Bergen towns. They are part of the more than 750 sites that make up Patch's national network.



Full Storm Coverage



Full Storm Coverage



Full Storm Coverage



Full Storm Coverage



Full Storm Coverage



Full Storm Coverage



Full Storm Coverage



Full Storm Coverage



Full Storm Coverage



Full Storm Coverage

Full Storm Coverage



Full Storm Coverage



Full Storm Coverage

We launched Patch in Bergen County in September 2009, with a single site in Wyckoff. A site in Ridgewood soon followed.

We pop the bubbly and sing goodbye to 2010 with 13 sites in Bergen County.

With these sites come 13 full-time editors such as Fort Lee's , journalists working day and night to bring you, our neighbors, programming that we hope matters to you. These editors have amassed a network of close to 100 freelance writers and photographers who they send on a wide range of assignments.

We were busy this year creating a directory of every business and organization in the towns where we have sites. We did this by visiting every business in town, with a clipboard and digital camera in tow.

If you own one of those businesses, we encourage you to "claim" your listing. If you are a community member who found one of those businesses through Patch, please let the storeowner know when you visit their shop.

Over the past year, we've also launched numerous improvements to our sites with the sole purpose of allowing you more interactivity, as well as giving you input into our news coverage, including a "shout box" on our homepages, a "request follow" feature at the end of every story and a Q&A section of the site.

Our sites also include a large calendar of events, often hundreds, and dozens of announcements from the community. I encourage you to post announcements, whether they are births or weddings or volunteer opportunities. And if you are looking for a way to make a difference in your town, visit our listings of organizations seeking volunteers.

You really can make a difference in your town and beyond through Patch. That may sound a little Pollyanna, but here is a brief anecdote for you.

Early this week, one reader wrote in with a suggestion about how Patch should take the lead in helping get fire hydrants cleared of snow. By the next day, we had launched a campaign to get this done, offering small gifts to anyone who posted a photo of themselves cleaning snow from a hydrant.

In the grand scheme of life, that may seem small. But what if one person had done it in the right place and at the right time? With hundreds of Patch sites in the states hit by the Christmas weekend blizzard, we're talking about thousands of buried fire hydrants.

That's just a small sampling of what we can accomplish together. Our editors do not work in non-descript office buildings. You'll see them around town, usually at a Starbucks, Panera, or a local shop with free WiFi.

They'll usually have a Patch sticker on their MacBooks, so say hello when you see them. From everyone at Patch, have a great New Year and a happy and healthy and prosperous 2011.

The best is yet to come.