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
Vacca Constituent Asks: When Will City Council Get Real About Street Safety?
| | 32 Comments
One of James Vacca’s constituents in the East Bronx has had enough of the City Council transportation committee chair’s fixation on bike enforcement while much more dangerous traffic threats go unaddressed. Vincent Ferrari recorded a stop sign near his apartment for 25 minutes and found that the vast majority of drivers don’t come to a […]
Eyes on the Street: Bus Stop Ravaged By Curb-Jumping Motorist
| | 1 Comment
In what’s starting to be an annual tradition, Streetsblog’s first reader-submitted photo of 2012 shows a bus stop pole brought low by the impact of a motor vehicle. 2011 got off to a similar start. This is the B69 stop at Vanderbilt and Atlantic, a stone’s throw from where Forest City Ratner and the Empire […]
The 2011 NYC Streetsies, Part 3
| | 9 Comments
The third installment of the Streetsies concludes 2011 for Streetsblog NYC, but we still have a few days left in our year-end pledge drive. Please drop a donation in our bucket to help support Streetsblog and Streetfilms in 2012. Have a great New Year everyone. We’ll see you back here on January 3. Elected Official […]
The 2011 NYC Streetsies, Part 2
| | 5 Comments
The 2011 Streetsies continue with a look at the most troubling news and dastardly deeds of the past year. You may want to catch Part 1 and the people’s choice poll results before diving in. Biggest Setback Which Andrew Cuomo transit policy deserves the honors? Fast-tracking a Tappan Zee replacement with no transit option, undoing […]
Give to Streetsblog and Make 2012 a Great Year for Livable Streets Coverage
| | 1 Comment
Streetsblog NYC made a huge impact in 2011, countering misinformation about the city’s bike and pedestrian programs, exposing the machinations of the politically-connected NIMBYs who wanted to drag progress on bike policy to a halt, and calling out Governor Andrew Cuomo for neglecting transit. We couldn’t have done it without the support of our readers. […]
The 2011 NYC Streetsies, Part 1
| | 4 Comments
The presentation of the 2011 New York City Streetsies kicks off with highlights from the past year. To catch up on the nominees and winners in the people’s choice categories, have a look at the voting results. Best Moment Streetsblog spent the better part of 2011 covering a half-baked lawsuit. Merit-less though it was, the […]
Cast Your Vote for the 2011 Streetsies
| | 3 Comments
It’s that time. Time to take stock of the year in livable streets. Time to revisit the great media bike freakout of 2011. Time to feel the agony of transit raids and savor the joy of victories over the bikelash all over again. Yes, the polls are open for the people’s choice categories in Streetsblog’s […]
Andrew Cuomo Can’t Ignore Transit in 2012
| | 11 Comments
New York City transit riders might have taken some small measure of satisfaction from the sight of Carl Kruger resigning from the State Senate earlier this week. Pleading guilty to federal corruption charges, Kruger became the third member of the “Fare Hike Four” — the gang who killed a 2009 plan to fund transit by […]
Give This Week and Levi’s Commuter Jeans Could Be Yours
| | No Comments
I’m pleased to announce that thanks to an outpouring of support these past two weeks, Streetsblog and Streetfilms are more than halfway to our goal of raising $25,000 by the end of the year. If you haven’t given yet and you value the high-impact reporting and videos that we produce day in and day out, […]
Note to NYC Press: Public Health Experts Don’t Sell Cheeseburgers
| | 12 Comments
For the second time in the past few weeks, a New York City media outlet has allowed Milk Burger owner Erik Mayor to claim that protected bike lanes in East Harlem will increase asthma rates. Earlier this month it was the Daily News, and over the weekend NY1 gave some airtime to Mayor too. East […]
Donate By Midnight Friday and This Handsome Item Could Be Yours…
| | No Comments
Just a reminder: Give to Streetsblog and Streetfilms before midnight and you’ll enter to win a handsome, made-in-America Zero Tweed Bag from Rickshaw. Thanks for supporting us, and enjoy the weekend.
Lautenberg Introduces Bill to Limit Bridge and Tunnel Tolls
| | No Comments
Last summer, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey raised EZPass tolls from $8 to cross a bridge into the city during peak hours to $9.50, with planned increases to $12.50 in a few years (cash tolls are increasing somewhat more). Tolls for five-axle trucks will rise as high as $125. The hikes […]