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
Streetsblog Q&A With TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen
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Last December, John Samuelsen was elected president of TWU Local 100, the union that represents 38,000 subway and bus workers in the New York City region. He assumed the leadership from former president Roger Toussaint at a troubled time for the transit system. With transit tax revenues in free fall and state lawmakers raiding MTA […]
Cab Driver Strikes and Kills Manhattan CB 3 Member on Essex Street
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Harry Wieder. Photo: DNAInfo From news site DNAInfo: The victim, Harry Wieder, 57, was crossing Essex Street between E. Houston and Stanton streets around 9:45 p.m. when he was hit by a taxi heading north on the block, police said. Wieder, a longtime advocate for disability, transportation and LGBT issues, had been leaving a Community […]
How Many New Yorkers Bike Each Day?
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The explosive growth in cycling across NYCDOT’s screenline tracks closely with rising bike commute rates among Brooklyn residents, but not with the slower citywide growth trend. There were two developments today spotlighting the evolution of cycling in New York City. Transportation Alternatives came out with their updated figure for the number of people who bike […]
Can a Greenway and Two-Way Traffic Both Fit on Flushing Ave?
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The greenway segment on Flushing Avenue would connect Navy Street to Williamsburg Street West. Image: Google Maps The current concept for the Flushing Avenue segment of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway footprint calls for converting the street to one-way westbound traffic flow. Two-way vehicle traffic, say DOT planners, will create conflicts that endanger cyclists and pedestrians […]
NYPD Celebrates Earth Day With Massive Houston Street Bike Clipping
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Photo: Anthony Rebholz/This is FYF Via Gothamist, local blog This is FYF posts this scene from Houston Street earlier today. Apparently, with President Obama due in town for a speech at Cooper Union, NYPD jumped at the chance to drastically overreact by confiscating New Yorkers’ personal property. We haven’t been able to confirm with the […]
Hard Cap on Hudson Yards Parking Takes Effect. Will More Reforms Follow?
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The Hudson Yards district on the Far West Side of Manhattan now has limits on off-street parking. Image: hotdogger13 via Flickr. Strict limits on the number of parking spaces that can be built on the far West Side of Manhattan are now in force, a year after the city settled a lawsuit over the issue […]
Arizona to Other States: Take Our Transit Funding… Please
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Streetsblog founder Aaron Naparstek passes along this tale of legislative dysfunction from sunny Phoenix, Arizona. The narrator is Arizona state legislator Steve Farley, a public artist and community activist who recently brought home a $63 million TIGER grant to fund a new streetcar in Tucson. It’s a good thing the feds provide funding opportunities outside […]
Tonight: Important Meeting on Flushing Ave Ped-Bike Safety Project
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The two-way bike path concept for Flushing Avenue. Image: NYCDOT Brooklyn Community Board 2, NYCDOT, and City Council members Steve Levin and Letitia James are putting on a public meeting tonight to get feedback on the two-way protected bike path with planted pedestrian medians proposed for Brooklyn’s Flushing Avenue. The project is part of the […]
Anonymous Bike Lane Opponent Scores Media Coup on NY1
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Will we ever see the headline "Bike Lane Opponent Resorts to Misinformation and Lies"? Image: NY1 This report on the proposed Prospect Park West bike lane from NY1’s Jeanine Ramirez doesn’t quite stoop to Marcia Kramer levels of fabrication, but that might make it even more insidious. Slap together a few shots of ill-informed people […]
Thursday: Bike-Sharing Launches in Denver
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Earth Day is coming around the bend, and cities are timing their new green initiatives to coincide with the public’s heightened eco-consciousness. Here’s one we’re partial to: In Denver, Mayor John Hickenlooper and city leaders are using the occasion to launch their 500-bicycle, 50-station bike-share system. It will be the largest bike-share system in the […]
Council Members Vow to Back AARP Pedestrian Safety Goals
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From left to right: Council Members Jessica Lappin, Christine Quinn, and James Vacca, AARP State Director Lois Aronstein, and NYC Aging Commissioner Lilliam Barrios-Paoli. Photo: Ben Fried Electeds and other officials gathered with representatives from AARP today to pledge support for street improvements and to call on Albany to pass complete streets legislation. Kicking off […]
Ghost of Congestion Pricing Lingers at RPA’s 2010 Regional Assembly
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Even when there’s no breaking news at the RPA’s regional assembly, the annual get-together at the Waldorf Astoria is a good time to gauge the collective mood of the people who run the region’s transportation systems and think about planning for New York City’s future. How often do you get the heads of the MTA, […]