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
Turn Out Tonight to Support Livable Streets With Staying Power
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The current round of pedestrian and bike improvements for Allen and Pike Street might be just the beginning. Tonight’s Manhattan CB3 committee meeting is an important one for advocates looking to make the current round of pedestrian and bike improvements on Allen and Pike Streets more permanent. This is a major reclamation project [PDF] stretching […]
SF Police Chief Talks Traffic Safety With Streetsblog. NYPD? Silent.
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Police chief George Gascón, center, fields a question from Streetsblog’s Bryan Goebel. Photo: Michael Rhodes. On August 7, George Gascón was sworn in as San Francisco’s chief of police. Four weeks later, he sat down for an interview with Streetsblog San Francisco editor Bryan Goebel. In case you thought all police were incapable of discussing […]
Streetfilms: San Francisco’s Foggy Sunday Streets 2009
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For many American cities, 2009 marks the second time around for car-free events modeled after Bogotá’s Ciclovía. In San Francisco, like New York, last year’s innovation is this year’s tradition, as you’ll see in this Streetfilm from John Hamilton: Despite a blanket of fog, the last San Francisco Sunday Streets of 2009 was, from all […]
Double-Parkers Gravitate Into Sands Street Bike Path
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Time Warner sets up an operation in the Sands Street bike path. Photo: Gothamist. Cyclists riding across the Manhattan Bridge have had about a month to try out the new Sands Street bike path, and based on the reviews so far, two major kinks are marring an otherwise sterling project. First, motorists, especially delivery vehicles, […]
The Jay Walder Compensation Confirmation Circus Gets Underway
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Jimmy Vielkind at the Politicker files a dispatch from the first State Senate hearing about MTA chair nominee Jay Walder’s severance package (yes, there will be more than one). At today’s hearing, in Mineola on Long Island, Regional Plan Association President Bob Yaro said that Walder’s pay is fair (and low, if you compare it […]
Caption Contest: Time to Expand Car-Free Broadway [Updated]
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Just another day at 53rd and Seventh. Photo: Gawker. Hey, here’s some of that pulse-pounding New York City energy that a few people wish we still had in the middle of Times Square. Instead of propelling a vehicle through midtown streets, the energy embedded in this taxi’s tankful of gasoline has been converted into giant […]
Eyes on the Street: Kent Avenue Progress Report
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Clarence sends these shots from Kent Avenue, where the striping and painting of the city’s first two-way, on-street parking protected bike lane is currently in progress. This is the view looking north from the vicinity of Clymer Street. The project will be completed in two phases. According to DOT’s project presentation [PDF], the current work, […]
The District 33 Transpo Debate: Can They Top Yassky on Livable Streets?
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L-r: City Council candidates Ken Baer, Doug Biviano, Ken Diamondstone, Jo Anne Simon, Evan Thies. The most telling answers at Transportation Alternatives’ District 33 City Council candidates forum came after an audience member asked point blank for the debaters’ stance on congestion pricing. "I can’t support a candidate who’ll support congestion pricing," said the questioner, […]
NYLCV Endorses Safe Streets Foe Alan Gerson for Re-Election
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The New York League of Conservation Voters came out with their slate of primary endorsements today. Streetsblog readers may be surprised to see that District 1 incumbent Alan Gerson is one of four City Council candidates in Manhattan to win the environmental group’s endorsement. Since last fall, Gerson has agitated against pedestrian and bike improvements, […]
Preview: District 33 Transpo Smackdown
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Tonight’s candidate forum for the 33rd City Council district, which covers the Brooklyn neighborhoods closest to the East River, bears special significance for livable streets policy. Outgoing rep David Yassky was an early supporter of congestion pricing in the City Council and later carried the banner for the Bicycle Access Bill, which passed earlier this […]
What Transportation Data Should NYC Open Up?
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Today and tomorrow are momentous days for civic-minded software developers in New York City. The Bloomberg administration is accepting requests, until Tuesday at 4:00 p.m., to make specific government datasets publicly available. Modeled after a Washington D.C. initiative called Apps for Democracy, Bloomberg’s "NYC Big Apps" software competition promises to deliver greater transparency and, ultimately, […]
Eyes on the Street: A Safer, More Sociable Boulevard Takes Shape
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A reader sends this view of Pike Street, taken from the Manhattan Bridge bike path late last week. You’ll notice the square of light pavement connecting two mall segments. That’s the intersection with Monroe Street, one of four locations slated for pedestrian plazas in DOT’s most recent plan for Pike and Allen Streets [PDF]. A […]