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
Council Members Call on Ray Kelly to Reform NYPD Crash Investigations
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Commissioner Ray Kelly and the New York City Police Department cannot continue to let thousands of serious injuries caused by dangerous driving go uninvestigated each year, said a group of City Council members, street safety advocates, and victims’ families on the steps of City Hall today. Council members are following up on a February hearing […]
Chattanooga Bike-Share Goes Live With Same Software as NYC
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In a good sign for the deployment of Citi Bike in New York City, Chattanooga went live with its bike-share system last night. The system, called Bike Chattanooga, consists of 300 bikes at 28 stations. More importantly, as far as New York is concerned: It uses the same bikes and kiosks as Citi Bike, which […]
Eyes on the Street: Return of the Guerrilla Separated Bike Lane
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Brooklyn’s new guerrilla bike lane has a life of its own. Last week we shared some pictures of a makeshift separated bike lane on the block of Bergen Street between Sixth Avenue and Flatbush Avenue, which is usually blocked by NYPD squad cars from the 78th Precinct. Enterprising local resident Ian Dutton had re-purposed some […]
Bloomberg: Citi Bike Software Not Ready for Prime Time Yet
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The hold-up with NYC’s bike-share launch is technical, not political. Mayor Bloomberg revealed this afternoon that Citi Bike is behind schedule because of kinks in the system’s software that are still being worked out. The Public Bike System Company, which produces the kiosks and bikes for NYC’s system, recently switched software providers, claiming that its former […]
Local Electeds Announce Specific MTA Service Restorations
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Local pols are sending out word about MTA service restorations in their districts. Yesterday Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver got the jump on announcing a restored bus route — letting slip that the M9 will be extended back to Battery Park City. The MTA will be announcing the full slate of service changes later this afternoon. All […]
Eyes on the Street: Guerrilla Bike Lane Separation on Bergen Street
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Streetsblog reader and former Manhattan Community Board 2 standout Ian Dutton has hit upon a low-cost way to keep the Bergen Street bike lane clear of NYPD squad cars. The short piece of Bergen between Sixth Avenue and Flatbush is routinely blocked by the 78th Precinct’s vehicles, so Ian took advantage of some idle Con-Ed […]
Streetsblog NYC Seeks Volunteer With Strong Stomach
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Regular Streetsblog readers may have noticed a gap in our usual Friday coverage. For the last few weeks we have not been publishing the Weekly Carnage column compiling the city’s traffic violence. After nearly a year-and-a-half, our superb volunteer Summer Greenstein could no longer devote the necessary time to the project. While she was on […]
Eyes on the Street: Plaza Street Bike Lane Goes Both Ways
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Well, the paint and striping aren’t all the way there yet, but there’s now room to bike in both directions on Plaza Street in Brooklyn. Doug Gordon posted a few pictures on BrooklynSpoke this morning, and reader Steve O’Neill sent in a few more. This DOT project will make it much more convenient to bike […]
NYC Will Expand 20 MPH Zones to 13 Neighborhoods, With More to Come
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Following the launch of the city’s first 20 mph zone in the Claremont section of the Bronx last year, NYC DOT has selected 13 more areas to receive the “slow zone” treatment (see the full list), Mayor Michael Bloomberg and DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan announced this afternoon. DOT was inundated with applications for slow zones […]
Eyes on the Street: Concrete Progress on Eighth Ave Protected Bike Lane
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Doug Gordon of Brooklyn Spoke fame sends these shots of another milestone in the extension of the Eighth Avenue protected bike lane: The pedestrian islands are going in. These pools of pure unspoiled concrete were spied at the intersection of 35th Street. Watching this NYC DOT safety project take shape in the heart of Midtown, a favorite […]
County Execs Want More Details Before Voting on Tappan Zee Replacement
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Faced with a crucial vote that could have set federal funding in motion for the Cuomo administration’s transit-less Tappan Zee Bridge replacement, three county leaders have asked for more information before signing off on the project. The Journal News reports that Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, Orange County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, and Putnam County […]
Now You Can Bike Both Ways Across Central Park on 72nd Street
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The two-way, buffered bike lane across Central Park on 72nd Street is rounding into form, with most but not all of the markings in place, readers tell us. The path is rideable in both directions, adding a critical piece of east-west connectivity to the bike network. Reader Heidi Untener sends this pic from a recent […]