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
Community Board 3 Approves Delancey Street Safety Improvements
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Manhattan Community Board 3 signed off on a package of safety improvements for deadly Delancey Street Tuesday night, according to State Senator Daniel Squadron’s office. The plan, presented by NYC DOT in February, narrows the crossing distance at 14 out of 19 intersections between the Williamsburg Bridge and the Bowery, but doesn’t substantially alter signal […]
London Mayoral Candidates Vie to Be the Most Bike-Friendly
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Remember the Times of London’s “Cities Fit for Cycling” campaign? Earlier this year one of the most prominent dailies in the UK pulled out all the stops to make bicycling safer in British cities, promoting a comprehensive policy platform. The campaign is for real: The Times is now getting London mayoral candidates on the record […]
From Minnesota to Mississippi, Telling Congress to Save Bike-Ped Programs
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For more than 20 years, federal funding for bike and pedestrian safety has enabled American cities and towns to invest in transportation projects that state DOTs would otherwise have overlooked. Thanks to these programs, communities have helped main streets thrive, provided kids with safer routes to school, and made biking an attractive transportation option. The […]
Tarrytown Joins Westchester Towns Calling on Cuomo to Build Transit on TZB
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You can add Tarrytown to the growing list of Hudson Valley suburbs that want Governor Andrew Cuomo to include transit on the new Tappan Zee Bridge, reports Dani Simons at Mobilizing the Region. Tarrytown sits at the foot of the TZB on the eastern bank of the Hudson. Last week the village Board of Trustees […]
Jackson Heights Public Plaza, Thursday Afternoon
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Courtesy of Clarence Eckerson, Jr., here are some more scenes from the Jackson Heights pedestrian plaza that don’t fit the New York Times’ preferred narrative. Clarence says he passed through the plaza three times yesterday and it was bustling each time. On a Thursday. Related posts: The Jackson Heights Plaza Photo the Times Doesn’t Want […]
A Bike Company Offers a Prescription for America’s Health Care Cost Crisis
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One of the most talked-about presentations at this week’s National Bike Summit came from Jason Gaikowski, director of sales for the Bloomington, Minnesota-based wholesale distributor Quality Bicycle Products. Over the last several years, QBP has ramped up its employee health and wellness program, which includes incentives to bike to work. At a time when most employers […]
Eyes on the Street: Mondo Bike Parking at DC Metro
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As a New Yorker in DC for the National Bike Summit this week (stay tuned for the upcoming Streetfilm), my eyes popped at the sight of the ample-yet-filled-to-capacity bike racks at many Metro stations. Bike-to-Metro trips increased at a rapid clip in the aughts, and in 2010 WMATA, the agency that runs Metro, laid out […]
The Jackson Heights Plaza Photo the Times Doesn’t Want You to See
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Gotta hand it to the Times for some devious photo editing in today’s Metro section. Check out the barren seating and shuttered storefronts in the shot that accompanies Sarah Maslin Nir’s two-sides-to-every-story piece on the new Jackson Heights plaza. That plaza must really be a failure, right? Except, if you wait until the stores actually […]
Caption Contest: Chuck Schumer Rides the Prospect Park West Bike Lane
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Looks like protected bike infrastructure is growing on Chuck Schumer. High-powered backchannel NIMBY assault notwithstanding, New York’s senior senator apparently does enjoy riding the bike lane in his front yard, as you can see in this Sunday morning photo courtesy of fellow PPW resident Paul Steely White. So, when will the rest of Streetsblog’s 2011 April Fools […]
Joke of the Day: Dean Skelos “Concerned” About MTA Debt
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In a letter to MTA Chair Joe Lhota, State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos writes that he’s withholding approval for $770 million in MTA capital funding and a hike in the agency’s borrowing limit because “a staggering $42 billion bonding debt level is of great concern.” (Hat tip to Dana Rubinstein at Capital New York.) […]
A Solution to Deadly Atlantic Avenue Speeding: LIDAR Enforcement
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Last week Brooklyn City Council Member Steve Levin went out to Atlantic Avenue and clocked 88 percent of drivers breaking the speed limit. Atlantic is one of the deadliest streets in Brooklyn, recently tying for the borough’s top spot in the annual Tri-State Transportation Campaign ranking of the region’s most dangerous roads. And yet, as […]
State Senate Holds Transit Riders Hostage for Road $$$ [Updated]
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When Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled his state budget proposal earlier this year, perhaps the best news for transit riders was the inclusion of $770 million to support the next three years of the MTA capital program. The funding would help pay for maintenance and expansion projects without forcing the MTA to borrow quite so much. And […]