Thank You, Long Beach Patch Readers!

Thank you, Long Beach Patch readers, for taking time in your busy days to spend a few moments with Patch. We appreciate your visits and contributions, and we want you to know we take nothing for granted here. Thank you for helping us to grow and thrive this year.

Eight years ago, on Aug. 30, 2010, Long Beach Patch launched. It was one of the first Patch sites launched, and has come a long way since then. And it has all been thanks to our readers.

In August, the Long Beach Patch recorded 52,817 visitors. For a city of 33,700 people, that's a lot of readers! Our visitors hail from the Barrier Island, for sure, but many residents of neighboring towns also land on Patch from time to time, too. That figure — compiled and verified through Google Analytics — includes readers on desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile and our app, and our visitors often access Patch on several devices over the month.

Here are 10 of the most-read articles on the Long Beach Patch in August.

• Man Arrested After Assaulting Officer: Long Beach Police
• Drunken Driver Was Driving Without License, Fled Accident: LBPD
• Nassau Beach Closed After Needles Wash Up On Shore
• Island Park To No Longer Send Students To West Hempstead
• Nassau Firefighter Lit Multiple Fires: Police
• Long Beach Schools Eliminate Homework For Elementary Students
• Shark Spotted In Long Island Bay [Video]
• Woman Arrested After Leaving Toddler In Hot Car On Long Island
• 56-Foot Yacht Runs Aground; Woman Airlifted To Hospital
• Tornado Hits NYC, Downs 50 Trees And Power Lines In Path

Got a news tip? I'm Alex Costello, your local editor. I've been covering the South Shore of Long Island for years. I love this community and all its unique charm. You may see me at Starbucks, but you'll never see me drinking coffee -- I'm a big fan of tea, and proud of it. Send your tips, ideas and questions my way at longbeach@patch.com.

Our readers also love the Long Beach Patch's calendar of events — more than 1,880 visits were made to our calendar in August.

If you would like to post on the Long Beach Patch, too, you may easily to sign up for a free user profile. As a Patch user, you can post articles, events, jobs, and announcements. And the "rules of Patch" are easy to follow: "no abusive content, no commercial spam, keep it local, and be awesome."

What else is going on? There are 4,556 of your neighbors on the Long Beach Patch email list. If you don't get Patch's daily email, click here and get added to the list. And in addition to emails, nearly 500 new people have joined the Long Beach Patch Facebook page this year. We're almost at 9,500 fans! If you're already on the page, please share with a friend. Reaching 9,500 fans in September would be a huge milestone for us.

If you own a local business and are interested in getting your message on the Long Beach Patch or our nearby Patches, please visit the page and tell us what you need. One of our sales reps will be in touch.

Here's another fun fact about Patch: Did you know that Patch is among the 100 most trafficked websites in the United States? Patch ranks 91st on the most viewed websites in the country, according to Alexa. The Long Beach Patch is part of a broad network, with nearly 120 Patches in New York and more than 1,200 across the United States. That's a lot of local news!

Many news websites are limiting access to free articles, but Patch articles and events by our journalists and our users are always free to view.

We're thrilled you've made the Long Beach Patch a part of your life. Thank you so much for your support and readership.

Try The Patch App

We've taken the best of Patch and packed it into a lightning fast, super-clean app that is loaded with features users have told us they want. If you haven't tried the app, give it a try. You can get the latest local news sent straight to your iPhone or iPad home screen on the free Patch app for iOS or the Android app.

Photo: Patch