The movie Gone Baby Gone begins with a voice over by Casey Affleck where he talks about community; the block you grow up on, the people who live there and the community it builds. It is an ideal that oftentimes gets lost in the towering urban cities we see today.
A new startup in New York, LifeAt, is working to change that. We are always looking at new startups that are approaching local in different innovative ways. At UpNext, we focus on cities. Other sites focus on neighborhoods. LifeAt starts at the building level. By creating individual secure websites for apartment buildings, LifeAt is trying to bring community to neighbors. In NYC, your building is oftentimes your "neighborhood" and knowing those around you builds that community.
In their words...LifeAt creates private, password protected websites for exclusive use by members of residential communities. Residents use LifeAt sites to communicate with neighbors; post classifieds; and rate and review local retailers, restaurants, & delivery services. Property managers and building developers use the sites to post news and updates for residents and to attract potential buyers and renters. The success of each site is fueled by the active participation of its membership.
It is a novel twist on an age old idea. It looks like they are growing rapidly and I look forward to having them in my building. Perhaps down the road, UpNext and LifeAt can work together to bring building communities together with local neighborhood businesses.
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