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
Joe Addabbo Tells Voters to Fight Bus Lanes on Street Where He Drives Daily
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The overhaul of Woodhaven Boulevard in southeast Queens promises to make buses faster and more reliable while preventing injuries and deaths on one of the most dangerous streets in the city. Naturally, State Senator Joseph Addabbo is mobilizing constituents to oppose the project and keep Woodhaven the way it is. Addabbo has been agitating against the […]
Upper West Siders Call on DOT to Make Amsterdam Avenue a Complete Street
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Next week — November 10 to be precise — DOT is expected to present a proposal to redesign Amsterdam Avenue for greater safety. The redesign is a long time coming. This summer marked the third time in the past six years that Manhattan Community Board 7 has asked DOT for a protected bike lane on Amsterdam. On Halloween, […]
The Streets Ball Is Next Thursday — Get Your Tickets!
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The big annual benefit for Streetsblog and Streetfilms is coming up next Thursday, November 5 — get your tickets now and support media that makes NYC streets better for walking, biking, and transit. Streetsblog is an influential news outlet because we have readers who are highly engaged and care deeply about the issues we cover. […]
City Council’s Progressive Caucus Endorses Move NY Toll Reform
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The City Council has become the strongest source of political momentum for the Move New York toll reform plan. Today the council’s Progressive Caucus announced its support for Move NY, with 14 of the bloc’s 19 members voting to endorse, according to the Daily News. The key to enacting toll reform is Governor Cuomo, who has […]
NYC Toll Reform Makes Too Much Sense to Fade Away
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Don’t count out Move New York just yet. When Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio hashed out their deal to fill the gap in the MTA capital program, it seemed like a window of opportunity was closing on the plan to cut congestion and fund transit by reforming the city’s dysfunctional toll system. The governor would […]
Streetfilms Shorties: Fix the Dysfunctional Chrystie Street Bike Lane
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Back in February, Manhattan Community Board 3 asked DOT to study a protected bike lane for Chrystie Street. Head over there during any rush hour and it’s easy to see why: There are tons of people biking to and from the Manhattan Bridge, but the painted bike lanes on Chrystie are constantly blocked by double-parked […]
Eyes on the Street: The First Avenue Bike Lane Gap Is Shrinking
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DOT tweeted a status report this afternoon on the First Avenue protected bike lane gap. Green paint is down on the newly protected section between 49th Street and 56th Street: #1stAve protected #bikenyc lane update: Wed PM: Roadway prepared for paint. Friday: Green paint on the ground! pic.twitter.com/yO0DhNzkri — NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) October 23, 2015 […]
NYC Housing Policy Too Important to Be Written By Free Parking Addicts
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Earlier this week the Department of City Planning presented its housing affordability plan to the Queens Borough Board, where representatives of community boards throughout the borough kvetched about — you guessed it — parking. One of the best things about DCP’s Housing New York plan is that it would bring an end to parking requirements […]
The Next Brooklyn Bike-Share Expansion Will Be the Thinnest Part of Citi Bike
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DOT unveiled its latest Citi Bike expansion map last week, and the stations look significantly more spread out than stations in the rest of the system. Spread-out stations are a problem for bike-share users because people have to walk farther to make trips, and that costs time. The National Association of City Transportation Officials recommends 28 stations per square mile — and […]
The Stubborn Persistence of Car Dependence
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With driving on the upswing again as gas prices remain surprisingly low, Yonah Freemark at The Transport Politic is taking a long hard look at what it will take to substantially change America’s travel habits. He notes that except for a handful of cities with good transit, driving continues to account for most of the nation’s growth in […]
NYPD Parking Hogs Finally Crossed a Line
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Joanna Oltman Smith nearly broke the Internet yesterday with this photo of officers marking territory for NYPD Transit Bureau District 30 on Schermerhorn Street: Just because you graffiti/tag Schermerhorn #bikenyc lane does not make it your parking lot @CommissBratton @NYC_DOT pic.twitter.com/NiXnJ9vZVX — Joanna Oltman Smith (@jooltman) October 14, 2015 Scrawling the District 30 pecking order on […]
Get Your Tickets to the Streets Ball! Thursday, November 5
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Come join the Streetsblog and Streetfilms team next month for our annual benefit, the Streets Ball, where you can support a year’s worth of high-impact reporting and videomaking in one spectacular night. Our guests of honor will be Council Member Jimmy van Bramer and Council Member Julissa Ferreras, who’ve been indispensable in the campaign to bring safer […]