Sewell Chan just emailed me and explained that the Blogroll on The Empire Zone page is an old one left over from May 2006 when the blog was a forum for coverage of state and local politics. I am excited to hear that the Times’ is developing a new site called CITY ROOM, which will include links to a wider variety of blogs.

Ms. Crawford,

I enjoyed meeting you at the blogfest in Park Slope you organized a
few weeks ago. Thank you for your hospitality.

I’m writing to respond to your post regarding the Empire Zone’s
blogroll. The Empire Zone began in May 2006 as a forum for coverage
of state and local politics, although its scope has expanded
recently. But you should know that the Empire Zone is being phased
out in the next few weeks; it will be replaced by a new site on
NYTimes.com, called City Room, that will focus broadly on all sorts
of issues in New York City.

The existing blogroll is a holdover from last year’s statewide races
in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. On the new site, we plan to
link to a much wider variety of resources and blogs throughout the five
boroughs and beyond.

I hope this addresses some of your concerns. Please feel free to post
this e-mail message on your blog, as I do think we deserve a chance
to respond.

Many thanks.

Sewell Chan