Updated: Happy April 1!

I have an exciting, if bittersweet, announcement for Crank readers: Starting Monday, I’ll be moving on to a new chapter in my career, as Mayor Ed Murray’s Neighborhood Outreach Coordinator.

As NOC, I’ll be the mayor’s eyes and ears on the ground in a neighborhood near you– from Queen Anne to Ballard, West Seattle to Wedgwood, and everywhere in between. Worried that your neighbors are harming our urban forest by cutting down private tree canopy in their backyards? Let me know and I’ll tell you all about how Seattle’s tree code works to preserve our urban forest! Irritated that homeless campers are treating your neighborhood park like their personal party fairgrounds? Happy to give you the scoop on why we can’t ship them out of the city! (Spoiler alert: The Constitution.) And if you’re curious why developers are being allowed to build townhouses on multifamily land even though it’s next to YOUR house, I’m putting together a pamphlet this weekend, “A to Zoning: A Homeowner’s Guide to Land Use,” that should clear up all your questions!

As a longtime reporter in Seattle (16 years!–Can you believe it?!), I’m familiar with neighborhood issues, well accustomed to taking a little bit of friendly abuse (no protests outside my house, though, please! :)), and eager to listen to and file away your concerns and comments.

As my first official act as the mayor’s NOC, I’m proud to announce that we’ll be rolling out a new social media site and Twitter feed this coming week. Check www.seattle.gov/mayor/nextfloor later in the week for an introduction to NextFloor (@nextfloor on Twitter and Insta), where renters can talk in confidence about issues with landlords, concerns about the housing shortage in Seattle, and ways to get more involved in their neighborhoods! Renters ONLY, please–we have strict privacy codes for the protection of our communities!

It’s an exciting time to work for an administration that shares my urbanist values, and I can’t wait to put my journalistic chops to work for you, my neighbors. As we say on the 7th floor: If you need anything–just NOC!