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 Watch: Transpo Chair Stokes Fears of Phantom Bike Lanes on NY1
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To borrow from the Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay, this NY1 segment starring City Council Transportation Chair James Vacca seems to come straight out of the “shrill and embarrassing” early 2011 phase of NYC bike coverage. Once reporter Michael Herzenberg intones in his best investigative journalist voice that “believe it or not, many of the […]
Calling the PPW Redesign a “Trial”? That Was Brooklyn Borough Hall’s Idea
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Here we are again, a few days away from a court hearing that could finally put the Prospect Park West lawsuit to bed. At issue in Brooklyn Supreme Court next Wednesday will be the seemingly tangential matter of whether the redesign of Prospect Park West was designated a “trial” or “pilot” project by NYC DOT. […]
NBBL Subpoenas Not Yet Sanctioned By the Court, But Embraced By the Post
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Two hours after Streetsblog published a post on Monday about the City University of New York’s refusal to disclose former DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall’s correspondence about the Prospect Park West redesign, bike lane opponents spun up their publicity machine and spat out a press release from their PR firm, LCG Communications [PDF]. The release informed […]
CUNY Refuses to Disclose Weinshall Emails About PPW Bike Lane
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Earlier this year, Streetsblog filed a set of freedom of information requests in our attempt to reveal the political maneuvering behind the campaign to get rid of the Prospect Park West bike lane. Since then we’ve received voluminous responses from the offices of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Council Member James Vacca, which […]
Alan Dershowitz: Vance Dragging His Feet on Fatal Crash Investigation
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Adam Lemire at the Daily News reports that Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz is losing patience with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance. Dershowitz’s sister-in-law, Marilyn Dershowitz, was killed by a postal truck driver as she biked on West 29th Street last weekend. The driver left the scene and had to be tracked […]
Bin Laden Is Dead, But the Second Avenue Bike Lane Lives On
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Given enough time, the theory goes, a thousand monkeys banging away at a thousand typewriters will eventually compose the complete works of Shakespeare. But Marcia Kramer and the crack news writers at CBS2 only needed a couple of hours, maybe less, to come up with last night’s masterpiece about the extension of the First and […]
Demystifying NYC’s Cycling Gender Gap
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The Times called some attention to New York City’s cycling gender gap this weekend with a feature titled “Women, Uneasy, Still Lag as Cyclists in New York City.” Judging from Christine Haughney’s write-up, the gender imbalance among NYC cyclists is immutable and impervious to policies that seek to shake up the status quo on the […]
City Asks Judge to Reject NBBL Attorney’s Request to Put Off PPW Hearing
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The city’s Law Department has responded to the latest maneuver by Gibson Dunn attorney Jim Walden seeking to delay a decision on the Prospect Park West lawsuit. On Monday, Walden sent a letter to Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Bert Bunyan, citing a recent New York Times story on Bloomberg administration pilot projects to press his […]
Requiem for Three Pedestrian Islands in Boro Park
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For the historical record, here’s three minutes of rather dull video capturing the pedestrian refuges on Fort Hamilton Parkway and 46th Street in Brooklyn. When the camera pans right you can also see the intersection at 47th Street, where there’s another refuge. I took the footage at the tail end of the p.m. rush this […]
NBBL Attorney Jumps on New York Times Story to Press His Case in Court
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The lawsuit seeking to eradicate the Prospect Park West bike lane may be shaky and borderline-frivolous, but Jim Walden, the lawyer representing the bike lane opponents, seems to have luck on his side this week. The source of his good fortune: A front page New York Times story on Bloomberg administration pilot programs. In a […]
36 Hours Left to Support Our Spring Fundraising Drive
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We’re hitting the final stretch of our spring fundraising drive, and Streetsblog and Streetfilms need your support to reach our goal of raising $25,000. Please give today if you value the reporting, commentary, and video that we produce. Make a donation in the next 36 hours, and you’ll be in the running to win a […]
Franco, Starks and Sadik-Khan Launch NYC’s Summer of Car-Free Streets
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Clarence put together these highlights from the morning presser with former Mets southpaw John Franco, all-time Knicks overachiever John Starks, and DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan announcing the 2011 season of Summer Streets and Weekend Walks. Said Brooklyn native Franco: “Events like this bring the city closer and makes everybody one big happy family.” Clarence also […]