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
Bill Bratton Has the Perfect Response to a “Bike-Yield” Law for NYC
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Yesterday Council Member Antonio Reynoso introduced a resolution calling for state traffic laws that recognize the differences between bikes and cars. The idea is that people on bikes should be able to treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs, proceeding after they check for crossing pedestrians and motor vehicles and the coast is clear. Well, the […]
Antonio Reynoso: Let’s Talk About Bike Laws That Make Sense for NYC Streets
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Get one thing straight: Council Member Antonio Reynoso doesn’t want to allow bicyclists to blow through red lights. What Reynoso does want are traffic laws that acknowledge the considerable differences between cars and bikes, and set expectations accordingly. In a resolution Reynoso will introduce this afternoon, which got some withering coverage in the Post, the North Brooklyn […]
Yes, the Cars Parked on Borough Hall Plaza Belong to Eric Adams & Company
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Bklyn. Borough Hall plaza almost redone. Now it returns to its intended purpose: parking. @StreetsblogNYC pic.twitter.com/rYE6pgpGxF — Brian Howald (@bdhowald) November 20, 2015 Last week reader Brian Howald called our attention to the vehicles parked on the newly refurbished surface of the plaza by Brooklyn Borough Hall. We checked in with Borough President Eric Adams’ […]
Upper East Side Community Board Asks DOT for Crosstown Bike Lanes
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Manhattan Community Board 8 passed a resolution Wednesday night asking DOT for crosstown bike lanes on the Upper East Side. Currently the only east-west pair in the neighborhood is on 90th Street and 91st Street. With biking in the neighborhood on the rise and the recent arrival of Citi Bike, it’s increasingly obvious that’s not enough. […]
Will the Sixth Avenue Protected Bike Lane Get Done in 2016?
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DOT presented a plan for a protected bike lane on 19 blocks of Sixth Avenue to the Manhattan Community Board 4 transportation committee last night. From 14th Street to 33rd Street, the design calls for carving out a six-foot bike lane and three-foot buffer protected from moving motor vehicles by a lane of parked cars [PDF]. Sixth […]
Rodriguez Backs Bill to Strengthen Legal Protections for People in Crosswalks
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Momentum is building in the City Council for a bill to strengthen pedestrians’ right-of-way. Introduced by Public Advocate Tish James last week, Intro 997 picked up the support of Transportation Committee chair Ydanis Rodriguez today. The bill fixes a flawed city rule that says people should not start to cross the street at any point […]
Queens Community Board Chairs Care About Parking More Than Housing
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Give it up for Queens community board chairs. Thanks to a vote last night, we now have a crystal clear expression of their priorities. Nothing is more important than parking. In a city without enough housing to go around, where rising rents are squeezing people in more neighborhoods every year, the community board chairs have taken a bold […]
On Day of Remembrance, Mayor Pledges to Take Vision Zero “a Lot Farther”
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Hundreds of people walked from City Hall to the United Nations yesterday to remember victims of traffic violence and call for action to prevent more loss of life on the streets. Addressing the crowd before the march, Mayor de Blasio said his administration’s effort to eliminate traffic deaths “has just started” and pledged to “take […]
DOT Will Present Amsterdam Ave Protected Bike Lane Design Tonight
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It’s happening: At tonight’s Community Board 7 transportation committee meeting, NYC DOT will present plans for a northbound protected bike lane on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side. The first phase of the project calls for a protected bike lane and pedestrian refuges from 72nd Street to 110th Street, which could be implemented as soon as […]
This Is 111th Street Right Before a World Series Game at Citi Field
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Residents of Corona are still waiting for DOT to implement a road diet and two-way protected bike lane on wide and dangerous 111th Street by Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The city unveiled the plan this spring in response to a campaign from the Queens Museum, Immigrant Movement International, Make the Road New York, and Transportation Alternatives. Julissa Ferreras, […]
The Streets Ball Is Tonight — Here’s How to Score Tickets
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Hi everyone, the time for our annual benefit is fast approaching — it starts at 7 p.m. tonight. If you’ve come to the Streets Ball before, you know it’s a special night, and if you haven’t, now’s a great time to start. Tickets are $50, and all proceeds go to support the reporting and filmmaking here on StreetsblogNYC […]
MTA Bus Drivers Killed Two People With the Right-of-Way This Week
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An MTA bus driver making a left turn struck and killed a woman crossing a Queens street Sunday morning. The victim, Leila Enukasvili, 59, was in the crosswalk and likely had the right of way at the time she was struck, based on available information. The investigation is ongoing and charges have not been filed […]