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
One Chart Brilliantly Sums Up Citi Bike’s Safety Record
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Courtesy of GIS specialist Tom Swanson, this graphic contains the best evidence yet that Citi Bike has not led to an increase in bicyclist injuries. Using crash information scraped from NYPD PDFs by freelance web developer John Krauss, Swanson was able to map which bicyclist injuries occurred inside the Citi Bike service area. Then he charted […]
Select Bus Service Comes to Brooklyn
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Yesterday was the first day of service for Brooklyn’s first Select Bus Service route, upgrading the B44 Limited with a dedicated bus lane, off-board fare collection, bus bulbs, and fewer stops. It’s the sixth SBS route to enter service, following two in the Bronx, two in Manhattan, and one in Staten Island. In addition to […]
NYPD Ped Safety Tips: ‘Use a Flashlight If You Walk at Night’ [Updated]
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The 78th Precinct in Brooklyn is one NYPD outpost that seems fairly responsive to community concerns about dangerous streets. Deputy Inspector Michael Ameri has a reputation for paying attention to pedestrian and cyclist safety — he was the commanding officer who decided that a guerrilla bike lane on one block of Bergen Street deserved to […]
Mayor de Blasio, Inequality, and Reforming NYC’s Streets
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One of the most insightful questions of the 2013 campaign season came two weeks ago, when WNYC’s Brian Lehrer asked Bill de Blasio if he considered transportation policy “one of his tools to fight inequality.” De Blasio, who overwhelmed his opponents this election cycle by appealing to New Yorkers’ sense of economic fairness, gave this […]
Election Results Open Thread
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The polls are closed! The results of all the citywide and boroughwide races were never really in doubt, unless Charles Hynes pulls off a shocker in the Brooklyn DA race. Only three out of 51 City Council races were thought to be competitive. This is why you’ve gotta vote in the primary. We’ll have an […]
Bid While You Can: Streetsblog’s Online Auction Ends Tomorrow at Midnight
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There are less than 36 hours left in Streetsblog’s first online auction, with more than a dozen items up for grabs. Whether or not you win an auction item in the end, your bids will help Streetsblog and Streetfilms produce media that makes the case for safer streets, effective transit, and livable neighborhoods. So why […]
Discussion of Complete Streets for Fifth and Sixth Avenues Advances at CB 5
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The sidewalks of Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Midtown are packed — sometimes overflowing — and the streets see some of the highest bike volumes in the city. While this should be one of the world’s premier walking districts, both avenues are designed primarily to move motor vehicles, and injury and fatality rates are high. […]
Here’s What’s Next for the Flushing Ave Segment of the Brooklyn Greenway
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The next phase of Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway construction on Flushing Avenue will build a raised two-way bikeway and planted buffers alongside the Brooklyn Navy Yard, creating a safer, more appealing environment on what has already become a much-used bike route. Here’s a look at the recently unveiled design from NYC DOT, the Department of Design […]
A Look at the Safer, Smoother First Ave in East Harlem and Upper East Side
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We mentioned this briefly in a post about the bike access improvements on the Manhattan side of the Queensboro Bridge, but the redesign of First Avenue in East Harlem and the Upper East Side is completed and worth a closer look. On October 15, DOT announced that work had wrapped up on the First Avenue project, […]
Scenes From Last Night’s Streets Ball — And a Big Thank You
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On behalf of the staff of Streetsblog and Streetfilms, thank you to everyone who came out for last night’s Streets Ball to support our work. It’s always a thrill and a joy to take a break from the comments section and meet our readers in person. Last night, we packed the Kings County Distillery and […]
Fox Business Tries and Fails to Capture the Dorothy Rabinowitz Magic
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Watch the latest video at <a href=”http://video.foxbusiness.com”>video.foxbusiness.com</a> Might the talking heads at Fox Business turn their gaze to the Plaza Hotel’s lawsuit against a nearby Citi Bike station and sneer at the frivolous litigation tying up our courts? Not a chance. Watch Dorothy Rabinowitz wannabes Melissa Francis and Fred Tecce spend four and a half […]
Finally, Someone Made a Tumblr of NYPD Blocking Bike Lanes
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In the grand tradition of the now-defunct MyBikeLane and UncivilServants, one upstanding citizen, who wishes to remain anonymous, has created the Tumblr every New York City cyclist has dreamed of: Cops in Bike Lanes. The name really says it all. If you want to add to the collection, which seems to be heavily focused in […]