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
Markowitz on PPW Data: It’s a Vast Biking Conspiracy
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It’s hard to know what to say after viewing this CBS2/Marcia Kramer segment. Watch Marty Markowitz allege that bike counts on Prospect Park West were inflated because advocates got tipped off by DOT about when the counts would happen, then biked over to use the new lane on those days. Your jaw may drop. Marty […]
Council Mem James Oddo: Require Enviro Review for All New Bike Lanes
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Last week’s release of “before” and “after” stats on the Prospect Park West bike lane tells an increasingly familiar story: A DOT redesign has increased cycling while making the street safer for pedestrians and drivers. Since safer streets make it easier for New Yorkers to get around without a car, and since biking and walking […]
Cuomo Will Retain Jay Walder and Chris Ward
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Erik Engquist at Crain’s has the good news. Governor Cuomo will keep two widely respected managers at the helm of the MTA and the Port Authority: Jay Walder will be retained as MTA chairman and chief executive and Christopher Ward as executive director of the Port Authority, the source said. Both men have been informed […]
A Response to the Post’s Bike Coverage (and a Marcia Kramer Sighting)
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Streetsblog editor emeritus Aaron Naparstek gave us a heads up about some letter writing to the Post he did earlier today. He also sends word — and a photo — that Marcia Kramer was out on Prospect Park West this afternoon in preparation for her next piece on the improving safety of NYC streets. Aaron […]
DOT’s PPW Data Greeted With Cheers, Paranoia at CB 6 Meeting
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The loudest applause at last night’s Brooklyn CB 6 meeting on the Prospect Park West bike lane went to DOT Assistant Commissioner Ryan Russo, after he wrapped up his presentation documenting the redesign’s effect on safety, bicycling rates, and traffic. The brief summary: injuries are down, cycling is up, and speeding has been tamed while […]
Tonight: Support the New PPW and Stand Up for Safer Streets
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At tonight’s Brooklyn Community Board 6 meeting, NYC DOT will present its final report on the re-designed Prospect Park West. The Brooklyn Paper has the latest safety stats from the city, and they show what one would expect from a project that has substantially reduced speeding: crashes and injuries are down across the board. From […]
Gut Check: New Yorkers Need to Speak Up For Bike Policy
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Yesterday the Post came out with another attack on the ongoing evolution of New York into a city where transit works better, streets are safer, and people have better options for getting around. Using a Post-manufactured squabble over the city’s Christmas blizzard response as their set-up, the editorialists launched into a screed against Transportation Commissioner […]
A Video Message About Bike Licensing, From New Jersey
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Via Andy B at WalkBikeJersey, here’s how one Newark newspaperman responded to a recent proposal to mandate bicycle registration in his state. (Congrats on breaking the story, WalkBikeJersey.) NYC’s own Eric Ulrich is contemplating a similar bill, though not one that would apply to minors. Somehow I doubt any of our local print outfits will […]
Queens Council Mem Eric Ulrich: Register Every Adult Who Rides a Bike
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Looks like Queens Council Member Eric Ulrich has come down with a nasty case of legislative diarrhea. The Post reports on Ulrich’s belief that streets will be safer if cyclists are required to ride with ID tags: In a bid to rein in rogue cyclists, all adult pedal pushers in the city will be required […]
Sensible Talk on Parking From Council Mems in Seattle and D.C.
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After Transportation Committee Chair James Vacca, Speaker Christine Quinn, and the City Council yanked a 25-cent parking meter increase out of the city budget last week, reading Vacca’s explanation in the Daily News (“This was just not fair.”) was enough to make transportation reformers despair. NYC meter rates are so low right now that curbs […]
Eyes on the Street: Queens Crossing Guards Improvise Street Safety Fixes
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While Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is out to tear up pedestrian refuges on a dangerous stretch of Fort Hamilton Parkway, over in Queens, local street safety experts are improvising their own traffic-calming measures. Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckerson took these pictures of crossing guards using cones as makeshift safety improvements outside two Jackson Heights schools. The […]
A Tale of Intimidation From the NYPD Bike Crackdown
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A week after NYPD announced that the agency will be stepping up its enforcement of cyclists, stories are starting to trickle in to our inbox and the comments section about encounters with cops on bike detail. Reader Greg, who asked to go by his first name only, wrote in to share his experience in Central […]