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
Safer Bowery, LES Bike Lanes Clear Manhattan CB3 Committee
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New bike routes will provide safer connections on the Manhattan side of the Williamsburg Bridge, in an attempt to divert cyclists from Delancey Street. Image: NYCDOT NYCDOT unveiled a slate of pedestrian and bicycle improvements to the transportation committee of Manhattan Community Board 3 last night. Presenters asked for votes on two street safety projects: […]
City Planning Can Set the Bar Higher on Fourth Avenue
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Well over a hundred people filled the auditorium of the Saint Thomas Aquinas Church last week for a forum on the future of Brooklyn’s Fourth Avenue put on by the Park Slope Civic Council. The stretch of Fourth Avenue on the western edge of Park Slope saw a wave of residential construction after a 2003 […]
Albany Didn’t “Cut” the MTA Budget. They Stole From It.
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As part of December’s deficit reduction package, Albany lawmakers took dedicated transit tax revenue from MTA operations to fund other parts of the state budget. The $190 million pot of money is known as the state’s 18-B obligation to the MTA. The total MTA operating budget is nearly $12 billion (with a "b"). When the […]
Streetfilms Shorties: The Manhattan Bridge Turns 100
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The Manhattan Bridge officially opened on December 31, 1909. While its 100-year anniversary came and went with little fanfare a few months ago, city officials paid respects today. At the ceremony, Clarence caught up with Gridlock Sam Schwartz, who heads the NYC Bridge Centennial Commission. In this clip Schwartz describes the nearly catastrophic deterioration of […]
To Save Student MetroCards, Trim the Fat From Bloated Yellow Bus Costs
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New York City’s MTA hearings wrap up tonight at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. If experience is any guide, we’ll get to watch a parade of pols harangue the MTA Board without offering much in the way of solutions for the underlying financial problems plaguing transit. But if our elected officials really want […]
Friday: Join Us for the Aaron Naparstek Farewell Bash
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Just a quick reminder, Streetsblog readers. Friday is your chance to submit comments to Streetsblog founder Aaron Naparstek one last time… in person. I know Aaron is looking forward to geeking out with all of you regular contributors, occasional chatterers, and masked avengers at our big sendoff. Even if you don’t reveal your online identity […]
Forest City Ratner: Carlton Ave Bridge Closure “a Bit of a Conundrum”
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Norman Oder at Atlantic Yards Report has the details from Wednesday’s public meeting on street closures and traffic changes near the footprint of Bruce Ratner’s Brooklyn arena project. With construction apparently on the verge of ramping up significantly, local electeds, NYCDOT, and representatives of developer Forest City Ratner engaged in a Q&A session as notable […]
Albany Chaos Open Thread
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Photo: Times-Union With Governor Paterson’s political career flaming out in spectacular fashion, speculation is rampant that he might step down any day, thrusting Richard Ravitch into New York state’s executive office. Ravitch would inherit a budget crisis of epic proportions and a state capital that was already in utter disarray. The potential succession would also […]
On Transit Advocacy, Working Families Party Misses the Mark Again
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Yesterday I received an email from the Working Families Party with the subject line "Students to confront MTA Board on MetroCard cuts." It seemed as though the WFP had surveyed the sorry state of transit finances in New York and decided that the MTA Board is a worthy target. As for the state legislature’s theft […]
Hummer Going the Way of the Dodo
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The days are numbered for the military vehicle that carmakers turned into the bane of pedestrians, cyclists and planet Earth. GM has announced plans to wind down Hummer production after a deal to sell the brand to a Chinese manufacturer fell apart. According to the Times, the Chinese government wanted no part of Hummer because […]
Want to Foster Walking, Biking and Transit? You Need Good Parking Policy
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The high-water mark for American parking policy came in the early 1970s, when cities including New York, Boston, and Portland set limits on off-street parking in their downtowns. They were compelled to do so by lawsuits brought under the Clean Air Act, which used the lever of parking policy to curb traffic and reduce pollution […]
March 5: Come Party With Streetsblog and the Guy Who Started It All
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My former boss Aaron got lots of people excited in his farewell post when he said we’d be throwing a going-away party on February 5. It took us a little bit longer than we anticipated to steel ourselves for this moment, but now we’re ready. The party is on for Friday, March 5. If you’re […]