Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.
Ben Fried
Recent Posts
CB 7 Committee Backslides With Split Vote on Protected UWS Bike Lane
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DOT’s proposal for Columbus Avenue would create room for a separated bike lane by narrowing, not removing, car lanes. Image: NYCDOT [PDF] Looks like some Manhattan community board types still want to see their local streets keep that highway-in-the-city feel. After receiving a request from Manhattan CB 7 in the fall to prepare plans for […]
Vancouver Gives Cyclists a Lane on the Burrard Bridge
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Streetfilms’ Vancouver correspondent Frank Lopez reports on a development that will sow envy in the heart of anyone who walks or bikes over the narrow, congested paths of the Brooklyn and Pulaski bridges: It’s been 15 years since Vancouver residents started petitioning for a bike lane on one of the bridges that connects to downtown. […]
Brooklyn Paper on PPW: Double-Parking Takes Precedence Over Safety
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The self-hating cyclists at the Brooklyn Paper are at it again. A year after siding with a handful of merchants who wanted to erase the Fifth Avenue bike lane, Gersh Kuntzman and the editors of Brooklyn’s flagship media property say they don’t want to see a protected, two-way bike path on Prospect Park West: Gersh […]
Walder: MTA Commitment to Open Transit Data Is For Real
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At a conference at Google’s Chelsea office last night, MTA Chair Walder said all the right things about working collaboratively with software developers, confirming the agency’s dramatic turnaround on open transit data. After a longstanding policy of keeping a tight lid on route and schedule information, the MTA reversed course earlier this year and began […]
John Leguizamo’s Green Limo
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This is too fun not to post. John Leguizamo, who’s been biking in New York since before the actual Summer of Sam, takes a CNN crew on a ride through Midtown and shares some pointers on NYC cycling. (Sorry about the BASF commercial you’ll have to sit through before it gets started.) Leguizamo’s big pitch […]
Talking Transit With City Council Transportation Chair Jimmy Vacca
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Jimmy Vacca at last week’s City Council hearing on Intro 120. Photo: Noah Kazis The last two years have been full of dismal news for transit riders in New York City. Revenue streams for transit have nosedived during the recession, with Albany plundering dedicated MTA taxes for good measure. The payroll tax state legislators passed […]
Q&A With City Council Transportation Chair Jimmy Vacca
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This January, Bronx City Council Member Jimmy Vacca took over the transportation committee from outgoing chair John Liu. Vacca sketches out a street in his district where speeding is a problem. Photo: Noah Kazis Vacca represents an eastern Bronx district where car ownership is higher than the New York City average, and he’s come in […]
First Look: Grand Army Plaza as a Walkable Destination and Bicycling Hub
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At the north end of Grand Army Plaza, new pedestrian spaces will make it easier to walk to the central public space. Click for a larger version. Image: NYCDOT The walking, biking, and public space enhancements for Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza that DOT presented last night are now available online [PDF]. The top graphic shows […]
DOT’s Grand Army Plaza Plan: Bold, Exciting, Crowd-Pleasing
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At last night’s presentation to a joint meeting of three Brooklyn community boards, DOT assistant commissioner Ryan Russo unveiled what he called "a pretty dramatic and bold, exciting plan" for Grand Army Plaza. The proposal lived up to the billing. Lots of asphalt will be reclaimed for walking and biking. Getting to the central plaza […]
Tonight: DOT Presents “Significant” Improvements for Grand Army Plaza
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Just a reminder, DOT’s presentation to a joint meeting of Brooklyn CB 6, CB 8, and CB 9 starts at 6:30 at the Brooklyn Public Library main branch. Word is that the advocates who’ve been working for years to make Grand Army Plaza a better public space are excited about this one, and if you […]
Pogan Verdict: Jury Finds Ex-Cop Guilty of Cover-Up, Not Guilty of Assault
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The Post reports that the jury has reached a mixed verdict in the trial of Patrick Pogan, the ex-NYPD officer who was seen by millions of YouTube viewers slamming his shoulder into approaching cyclist Christopher Long during a 2008 Critical Mass ride, sending Long to the pavement. Pogan was found guilty of falsifying records when […]
Video: NYPD Efficiently Deploys Officers to Clip Bikes on Houston Street
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Via Gothamist, here’s the Time’s Up video of police in the act of sawing bike locks on Houston Street last Thursday, in preparation for President Obama’s motorcade. Gothamist reports that a lawsuit may be brewing over the massive seizure of bicycles, which police held at the 7th Precinct for owners who were lucky enough to […]