We now have a way for you to contact other neighbors by e-mail on EveryBlock.

One of the most exciting things to come out of all the positive comments on the new EveryBlock is that we’re seeing even more conversations leading to real-world interactions. We’ve also noticed many of these discussions require users to exchange phone numbers or e-mail addresses so they can meet in person or share additional information.

Now you can allow your EveryBlock neighbors contact you by e-mail. To turn on this feature, just click on your account tab in the right corner of the page and select “manage e-mails.” Then, look for the “connecting with your neighbors” heading and mark the checkbox. (We have turned this option off by default for all our existing users because we didn’t want to catch anyone by surprise.)

If you would like to send an EveryBlock neighbor an e-mail message, first go to his or her profile page. If your neighbor has enabled this feature, you will see “send e-mail” in the right side.

While we still expect most neighbor conversations to take place publicly on EveryBlock so other neighbors can contribute and chime in, we think this is a great addition help you connect with people in your community while protecting your personal information.