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
Marist Poll: Two-Thirds of New Yorkers Support Bike Lanes
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A new NY1/Marist poll adds to the public opinion research showing a substantial majority of New Yorkers favor bike lanes. The survey found that 66 percent of adult New Yorkers support bike lanes, a somewhat higher level of support than the 59 percent recorded in a recent Quinnipiac poll. So NYC bike lanes are not […]
Cuomo Appoints 20-Member Committee to Help Search for New MTA Chief
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With about 70 days to go until Jay Walder puts in his last day as MTA CEO, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he has assembled a search committee to help pinpoint the right candidate to take over the nation’s largest transit agency. The next MTA chair will inherit an agency in perilous straits, whose finances […]
Summer Streets 4, Part One
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A few highlights from the fourth year of car-free summer Saturdays on Park Avenue and Lafayette Street, which, despite the threat of rain in the beginning, seemed just as popular as ever:
Dan Biederman: “If You Try to Change Things, You Get Opposition”
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Here’s the second installment of Streetsblog’s interview with Dan Biederman, head of the 34th Street Partnership and the Bryant Park Corporation. In the first part of the interview, Biederman discussed reactions to NYC DOT’s recent public space projects on Broadway, and why the reality on the ground is much better for Midtown than most press […]
A Verbal Tour of Midtown With Public Space Maestro Dan Biederman
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Before Dan Biederman came to Bryant Park, there were no movable chairs, no free movies on summer evenings, no kiosks selling sandwiches and refreshments. No lunch time crowds and not much in the way of civic life or social activity, either. There was, basically, an open-air drug market in the New York Public Library’s backyard. […]
Judge Rejects More NBBL Subpoenas in PPW Case [Updated]
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Here’s the latest on the Prospect Park West bike lane case: Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Bert Bunyan has again rejected an attempt by NBBL attorney Jim Walden to issue subpoenas without approval from the court. Last week Bunyan urged Walden to withdraw a round of subpoenas issued to several people, including members of Community Board 6 […]
Trucker Kills Cyclist; Daily News: Are Bikes More Dangerous Than Cars?
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A truck driver ran over and killed a 29-year-old male cyclist in Brooklyn this morning, the Daily News reports. According to the write-up, the driver turned right from Metropolitan Avenue onto Gardner Avenue, crushing the unidentified cyclist as he tried to pass on the right side of the truck. The driver did not realize he’d […]
Arturas Zuokas, World’s Most Bike-Friendly Mayor [Updated]
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From the Irish Independent: Rebellious Lithuanian mayor Arturas Zuokas has taken clearing bike lanes of illegally parked cars into his own hands. He drove an army personnel carrier over an old Mercedes-Benz S-Class that had been parked in a bike lane in the capital Vilnius in a bid warn owners of “posh” cars that they […]
Cyclist Gets in the Way of Cop Opening Van Door. Was “Criminality” Involved?
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John del Signore at Gothamist brings us the tape of a cyclist who got doored by an NYPD van driver near Grand Central Terminal. The dooring victim, Stephen Mann, told Gothamist that after he got knocked off his bike, police mainly wanted to know if he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs: I […]
Bike League: “Eligibility” for Bike-Ped Isn’t the Same As “Dedicated Funding”
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At this point, we’re not expecting any movement on a transportation bill, in either house, before the August recess. (After that, get ready for a panicked frenzy of activity ahead of the September 30 deadline.) From what we hear from Sen. Barbara Boxer’s staff, the EPW bill includes dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects. […]
Cuomo, Albany Balance MTA’s Books on the Backs of Straphangers
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Ever since the State Senate killed bridge tolls in the 2009 MTA funding package, the question has lingered: How is Albany going to finish the job and pay for the final three years of the MTA’s five-year capital program? To simplify somewhat, the options were: A) Implement a new revenue stream, such as the aforementioned […]
At Judge’s Urging, NBBL Attorney Jim Walden Withdraws Round of Subpoenas
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Gibson Dunn attorney Jim Walden grabbed headlines earlier this month after issuing a flurry of subpoenas to city officials in the Prospect Park West case. Streetsblog reported at the time that the subpoenas were not yet sanctioned by the court and were unusual for the type of suit, known as an Article 78 proceeding, filed […]