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Ben Fried

@benfried

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.

Recent Posts

Second Avenue, August 21, 2017. Photo: David Meyer

The 2017 NYC Streetsies, Part 1

By Ben Fried | Dec 27, 2017 | 5 Comments
Good things did in fact happen in 2017, and with this installment of the Streetsies we celebrate the good things that happened to NYC streets.

Cast Your Vote for the 2017 NYC Streetsies

By Ben Fried | Dec 22, 2017 | No Comments
Welcome to the Streetsies, our annual year-in-review in the guise of an online awards ceremony. 

Give to Streetsblog and Make New York a Better City for Walking, Biking, and Transit in 2018

By Ben Fried | Dec 22, 2017 | No Comments
As you settle in for the holidays, please take a moment to consider making a year-end donation to Streetsblog and Streetfilms.
De Blasio told reporters from Gothamist and DNAinfo he was unaware of Marty Golden's placard abuse. Image: NYC Mayor's Office

Bill de Blasio and the Narcissism of the Windshield Perspective

By Ben Fried | Dec 20, 2017 | 23 Comments
Other New Yorkers have to lose time with their families because their bus home moves at walking speed. It's a different city than the one the mayor experiences, ferried from place to place by police escort, conducting business in the backseat of an SUV.
This is how we'll remember State Senator Marty Golden — pretending to be a cop to intimidate a cyclist. Photo: Brian Howald

Marty Golden Would Have Gotten Away With Impersonating a Cop, If It Weren’t for That Meddling Cyclist

By Ben Fried | Dec 14, 2017 | 21 Comments
Who do you believe: Brian Howald, who has nothing to gain from saying that Golden used his parking placard to impersonate an officer? Or State Senator Marty Golden, who has everything to lose?
State Senator Marty Golden

State Senator Marty Golden, Flashing Parking Placard and Threatening Arrest, Bullies Cyclist Out of His Car’s Way

By Ben Fried and Brad Aaron | Dec 12, 2017 | 69 Comments
In Albany, Golden is one of the chief obstructionists of expanding New York City's speed camera program, which is impervious to placard corruption and has flagged the same car he was riding in last night for several violations over the past few years.
Photo: NYC DOT

Eyes on the Street: Jay Street Bikeway Segment Connects DUMBO to Downtown Brooklyn and the Manhattan Bridge

By Ben Fried | Nov 29, 2017 | 7 Comments
This short, contraflow parking-protected bike lane segment gives cyclists a safe, direct route out of DUMBO.
The mayor at a streetcar announcement in February 2016. Photo: NYC Mayor's Office/Flickr

Never Mind the BQX, Fix the Bus System

By Ben Fried | Nov 16, 2017 | 27 Comments
New Yorkers will be fine without a Brooklyn-Queens waterfront streetcar. But without a useful bus system, the city's in trouble.
Look how happy riding the subway makes you, Mr. Mayor. Photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photography Office

De Blasio Can Build a Progressive Transportation Legacy, But Not If He Kills Congestion Pricing

By Ben Fried | Nov 8, 2017 | 54 Comments
For all his straining effort to paint himself as a progressive leader, the mayor's signature transportation initiatives have done little for New York City's working class.
A classic from the vault.

What We Owe Gothamist and DNAinfo

By Ben Fried | Nov 7, 2017 | 31 Comments
When I started reporting for Streetsblog in 2008, writing about biking as transportation was still an oddity in NYC media, and community boards were making crucial decisions about streets and transit with very little public scrutiny. Reporters with Gothamist and DNAinfo changed that, and I want to take a moment to recognize those contributions.
Video still: WCBS

Let’s Get Serious About Capping Car Speeds in Crowded Cities

By Ben Fried | Nov 2, 2017 | 56 Comments
Sound outlandish? The barriers are not as intimidating as they might seem.
Our 2017 honorees (clockwise from top left): Vaccaro & White, Charles Komanoff, and Mujeres en Movimiento.

Thank You for a Wonderful Streets Ball and Give It Up One More Time for Our Honorees!

By Ben Fried | Oct 27, 2017 | No Comments
On behalf of the staff at Streetsblog and Streetfilms, thank you to everyone who came out last night to support our work at our annual benefit. It's always a thrill to be in the same room with so many people who value the media we make, and who are doing so much to improve walking, biking, and transit in their neighborhoods.
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