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
Cast Your Vote for the 2012 Streetsies
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I have to say, one of my favorite parts about being the editor of Streetsblog is posting the Streetsie polls at the end of the year and sitting back to watch the horse race. I’m hooked as soon as the first vote comes in. You have until midnight on December 24 to make your picks. And […]
Iris Weinshall on Marty Markowitz: “He’s a Creep… Always Has Been”
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So today we’ve been reviewing all the cynical ploys that former DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, former First Deputy Mayor Norman Steisel, and former Brooklyn College dean Louise Hainline used in their attempt to reverse the public planning process that produced the Prospect Park West bike lane. The lawsuit that’s back in the news today is […]
Give to Streetsblog and This Tough-Yet-Breathable Jacket Could Be Yours
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Hello Streetsblog readers, here’s the latest word on our end-of-year pledge drive. With the contributions pouring in, we’re rounding the home stretch more than three-quarters of the way to our goal of raising $60,000 by the end of the year. Can you help put us over the top? If you value what we do, please […]
With Joe Lhota’s Impending Mayoral Run, Transit Can’t Be Ignored in 2013
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A few quick thoughts on the news that MTA Chair Joe Lhota is going to leave the agency at the end of week to clear the way for a mayoral run… There are basically two angles to consider. One is that the MTA is about to lose its chief executive, yet again, after a brief […]
Tonight: Permanent Fort Greene Plaza Up for a Vote at Brooklyn CB 2
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A reminder for readers who live in and around Fort Greene: The Brooklyn Community Board 2 transportation committee is taking up the matter of Fowler Square plaza tonight, and if you head over to 180 Remsen Street to weigh in, you can help this new public space become a permanent neighborhood fixture. NYC DOT installed […]
City Streets for Sale in Providence
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Here’s a rather alarming update from Jef Nickerson at Greater City Providence, who alerts us to one of the not-so-imaginative responses to the current fiscal distress affecting many American cities. Providence is selling its streets: After Brown University and then RISD made agreements with the City to acquire parts of public streets for private parking in exchange for increased […]
This Street Sign Could Be Yours If You Give to Streetsblog NYC This Weekend
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Update! Streetsblog and Streetfilms are about three-quarters of the way to our goal of raising $60,000 by the end of the year. Thanks to everyone who’s contributed so far — we need that support to keep on delivering news, commentary, and videos that make the case for more livable streets. We’ve got some extra motivation […]
LA Planners Leapfrog NYC DCP, Approve Plan With No Mandatory Parking
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Angie reported this morning that Washington, DC, is moving to reduce mandatory parking requirements in much of the city, which should lower the cost of housing and curb traffic. Meanwhile, despite talk last year of wide-ranging parking reforms for New York’s “inner ring” encircling the Manhattan core, the Department of City Planning has so far […]
Monday: Help “Post Plaza” Take Shape Across the Street From Peter Luger
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We’ve got a heads up for an event early next week. There’s a public plaza in the works for the triangle where Bedford Avenue meets Broadway in Brooklyn, right by the Williamsburg Bridge. As you can see, there’s currently a lake of asphalt occupying some space that could be doing a whole lot more for […]
Help Make Sense of Crazy Steve Cuozzo
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So, Streetsblog is well past the point of bothering to rationally rebut anything that Post columnist Steve Cuozzo has to say on the subject of re-engineering streets for greater safety. The man clearly has a few screws loose, and, in the words of midtown BID impresario Dan Biederman, “He doesn’t know this field. He just […]
Damage From Sandy Pushes Bike-Share Launch From March to May
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This just in from NYC DOT: After bike-share equipment stored in the Brooklyn Navy Yard sustained damage in the Sandy storm surge, the city’s public bike system is now set to launch in May, not March. The initial service area will also be about three-quarters as large as the plan before the storm. Instead of […]
D-Wade *Is* Traffic — Heat Star a Regular at Miami Critical Mass
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Via BikeBlogNYC, the Miami Bike Scene recently posted this post-game clip of Dwyane Wade in which the All-Star Heat guard shares his fondness for going on bike rides with thousands of other people. On Friday, it seems, Wade and teammates LeBron James and Mario Chalmers warmed up for the next day’s match against the Brooklyn Nets […]