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
Spreading Falsehoods on Student Fares, Brodsky Takes Page From Giuliani
| | 9 Comments
The Westchester Democrat who carried the banner for congestion pricing foes in Albany two years ago is grabbing attention with another anti-transit stance. Posing as a defender of New York City school children, Assembly member Richard Brodsky sent a letter to the MTA this week claiming that "the actual cost of free and discounted student […]
Today’s Headlines
| | 8 Comments
Brodsky Claims Moving Half a Million Students Costs the MTA Next to Nothing. Wrong. (GG, SAS) De Blasio Directs Straphanger Ire Toward Albany (NY1) DOT Tables Plan for One-Way Conversions in Flushing, as Arrival of Traffic Magnet Looms (Your Nabe) State DOT Has Four Options for a New Kosciuszko Bridge, and They All Add Three […]
Brooklyn CB2 Committee Seeks Better Fort Greene Bike Connections
| | 4 Comments
The transportation committee of Brooklyn Community Board 2 voted unanimously Tuesday night to advance the idea of improving cycling connections between Fort Greene and surrounding neighborhoods. The proposal put forward by committee member Mike Epstein envisions safer bicycling across Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, spanning intersections that are currently among the most dangerous in Brooklyn. […]
Help Expand Livable Streets Coverage — Donate to Streetsblog
| | 8 Comments
When I started writing at Streetsblog a little more than two years ago, New York City felt like it might be on the brink of a new era of green transportation policy. Progressive change was already afoot at NYCDOT, and our elected representatives in City Hall and Albany appeared poised, just maybe, to enact a […]
Judge’s Decision on NYPD Parade Rules Tinted By Windshield Perspective
| | 41 Comments
A federal judge yesterday upheld NYPD rules which effectively outlaw bicycle rides with 50 or more cyclists that proceed without a permit. The case is closely associated with police crackdowns on Critical Mass but affects any group ride of sufficient size. In his 54-page decision in favor of NYPD and the city of New York […]
Eight Electeds Back Protected Bike Lanes for Manhattan’s West Side
| | 11 Comments
Protected bike lanes would enhance safety for cyclists and pedestrians on Amsterdam Avenue. Several representatives in the City Council and state legislature, as well as Borough President Scott Stringer, have signed on in support of protected bike lanes for Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues. Last fall, Manhattan CB 7 passed a resolution asking DOT to prepare […]
Bloomberg, Sadik-Khan Commit to a World-Class, 21st Century Broadway
| | 30 Comments
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, and leaders from the Midtown business community announced this morning that the new public spaces along Broadway will become permanent features of the city’s landscape now that an eight-month trial period has ended. The city will seek to build on the trial project’s success by […]
Bloomberg: The Transformation of Broadway Is Here to Stay
| | 25 Comments
There’s no going back. Photo: nanpalmero/Flickr Eight months after New York City changed traffic patterns in midtown Manhattan, transforming Broadway and reclaiming acres of urban space for pedestrian plazas at Times Square and Herald Square, Mayor Bloomberg announced this morning that the trial has proven successful and the changes will be permanent. Streetsblog will post […]
Gov’s Proposed NYC Tax Hike: A Testament to Your Local Pols, New Yorkers
| | 21 Comments
So it’s come to this. With transit revenues plummeting to the point where the MTA has to deal with a $400 million shortfall on top of an austerity plan that already calls for deep cuts in service, Governor Paterson yesterday proposed shifting the burden of the MTA payroll tax to fall heavily on New York […]
Sponsors Sold on Health, Economic Benefits of Minneapolis Bike-Share
| | 11 Comments
Don’t count out Boston just yet, but it looks like Minneapolis may be the first American city out of the gate with a public bicycle system of 1,000 bikes or more. Last week, the non-profit Nice Ride Minnesota selected the Public Bike System Company (the same firm behind Montreal’s Bixi) to install its system, which […]
Great Public Spaces for Midtown
| | 9 Comments
The new Times Square versus the old Times Square — worth a few seconds of motorist inconvenience on a few streets. Photos: berk2804 and midweekpost via Flickr Mayor Bloomberg has seen some of the data from the city’s trial of car-free, pedestrian-priority spaces in Midtown, and it looks like the changes in traffic speeds are […]
Bus Stops, Not Bike Lanes, the Hot-Button Issue at Manhattan CB 6
| | 10 Comments
One CB 6 member praised the "Design B" template for East Side avenues because of its bike safety benefits. Image: NYCDOT/MTA Last night NYCDOT and the MTA showed their plans for enhanced bus service and safer streets on the East Side of Manhattan to the Community Board 6 transportation committee. There was no vote, but […]