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
Banned From Bringing Your Bike to Work? The Law’s on Your Side Now
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Image: NYCDOT Today is a historic day for bicycling in New York City. Local Law 52, a.k.a. the Bikes in Buildings Law, took effect. People all over the city are talking to their bosses about bringing their bikes inside the workplace. And lots of those bosses will be talking to building managers about how to […]
Larry Silverstein: Most Buildings Can Comply With Bikes in Buildings Law
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Photo of 7 World Trade: G. Paul Burnett/New York Times. With the Bikes in Buildings Law taking effect in less than 24 hours, this story in the Times is a must-read. Here on Streetsblog, we’ve mostly covered the more intransigent elements within the real estate industry — the folks clinging to an antiquated cultural aversion […]
A Message from Copenhagen: Climate Plan Must Include Walkable Urbanism
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The energy-saving benefits of transit aren’t limited to the transportation sector. Image: Jonathan Rose Companies via Richard Layman. At a panel discussion yesterday at the Copenhagen climate summit, American policymakers and transit experts delivered a clear message: Walkable urban development must be part of any effective plan to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to […]
Quote of the Day
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The Daily News captured this off-the-cuff comment from Mayor Bloomberg on Albany’s sudden failure to deliver more than $350 million to New York’s transit system: "I don’t know why anybody is surprised at what is happening to the MTA," he said. "It’s a piggy bank that keeps getting raided."
Doomsday Redux? MTA and Transit Riders Squeezed on All Sides
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Yesterday word surfaced that the MTA will receive $200 million less from the recently enacted payroll tax than the state of New York originally projected. The news came less than a week after Albany legislators slashed $143 million from the MTA so the state can keep paying its bills. Add it up, and the agency […]
Video: The Bedford Avenue Guerrilla Bike Lane Striping
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For your viewing pleasure this morning, YouTube footage of yesterday’s early a.m. direct action on Bedford Avenue in South Williamsburg. It’s hard to say for sure, but it looks like the Hasidic bike lane painters chose to stay off-camera. After the jump, a look at the results in broad daylight, courtesy of a tipster.
This Friday: Bicycle Access Law Takes Effect
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Bicycles inside Silverstein Properties’ 7 World Trade Center. Photo: Transportation Alternatives. It’s been almost 120 days since the Bicycle Access Bill was signed into law, which means that this Friday, December 11, the law will actually take effect. If you work in an office building (with a freight elevator) where bikes are currently banned, you’ll […]
Guerrilla Stripers Paint Back Bedford Avenue Bike Lane
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Looks like some New Yorkers who bike on Bedford Avenue decided not to sit idly by after the city removed 14 blocks of bike lane in South Williamsburg. Multiple sources informed Streetsblog this morning that DIY, unofficial bike lane striping has appeared along the stretch of Bedford Avenue that was sandblasted last week. We don’t […]
New San Francisco Bike Lanes: Feel the Ecstasy
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SF MTA Chief Nat Ford and Mayor Gavin Newsom work the green rollers. Photo: Matthew Roth. These are heady days for San Francisco cyclists. After three years that saw the addition of pretty much zero bike infrastructure, this week the city hailed the arrival of its first new bike lane since 2006 and its first-ever […]
Sunday: Rally at City Hall for Traffic Justice
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Over the Thanksgiving holiday, three people were killed in New York City by drivers with suspended licenses. These deaths are entirely preventable. If not for a legal system that cavalierly lets reckless drivers get back behind the wheel, Sonya Powell and Lillian and Peter Sabados might still be alive. Steps like impounding the vehicles of […]
Council Members: If Only There Was Some Way to Deter Reckless Driving
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Yesterday the City Council held a hearing on street safety for older New Yorkers. The hearing came while the deaths of Lillian and Peter Sabados, an elderly Staten Island couple run down by Allmir Lekperic on Thanksgiving eve, are still fresh in people’s minds. But when it comes to keeping drivers like Lekperic from harming […]
Confirmed: New Yorkers Reap Health Benefits From Walking and Biking
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Graphic: NYC Department of Health The NYC Department of Health announced the results of a citywide survey today [PDF] assessing the health benefits of regular walking and biking. Based on telephone interviews with more than 10,000 New Yorkers, the health department reveals that people who incorporate walking and biking into their daily routine are significantly […]