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
Help Us Build a Better Blog: Take the Streetsblog Reader Survey
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I promise this will be quick, and probably even fun. We’ve put together a short questionnaire for our readers. Take the survey and tell us a little bit about yourself, why you read Streetsblog, and any feedback you have about the site. It takes a couple of minutes and will do a world of good […]
If You Ever Want to Maim Someone With Your Car, Get a Job at Morgan Stanley
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In most of the United States, the general rule about harming people with automobiles goes like this: Stay at the scene, and if you’re sober, you probably won’t be looking at anything more substantial than a moving violation. Recent laws passed in Oregon, New York, and Delaware promise to hold motorists to a higher standard […]
Vacca and Advocates to Albany: No More Transit Raids
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Transit advocates and City Council transportation committee chair Jimmy Vacca are sounding the alarm about potential transit funding raids before the year is out. A $315 million hole has opened up in the state budget, and unless elected officials change the way they balance the state’s books, straphangers could end up paying for Albany’s fiscal […]
Monday’s Your Chance to Defend the Columbus Ave Bike Lane
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Okay, we finally have a fixed date and time for the Manhattan Community Board 7 meeting where the protected bike lane on Columbus Avenue is expected to be a hot topic. Mark Monday, November 8, on your calendars. The board’s transportation committee will be meeting and word is that bike lane opponents are massing for […]
Marcia Kramer Exposes the Threat of Pedestrian Refuges [Updated]
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I had to pull this Marcia Kramer segment out of the headline stack and post it, because you’ve got to see it to believe it. Earlier this week, CBS2’s chief political correspondent went down to Borough Park to expose the pedestrian refuge threat. Intro: “The Department of Transportation has struck again.” With its outlandish Safe […]
NYC Restaurants in Search of Foot Traffic Can Apply to DOT
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A few months after launching the city’s first “pop-up café“ on Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan, NYC DOT is putting out a call to other businesses who might be interested in reclaiming curbside spaces to make way for seasonal sidewalk extensions, tables, and seating. The department announced today that it’s seeking applications [PDF] to expand […]
When Is NYC Law Enforcement Going to Use Hayley and Diego’s Law?
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The driver who ran down 13-year-old Sarah Parris in front of Canarsie High School will apparently face no charges, despite indications in published reports that he disregarded a stop sign extended by a school bus driver. Parris was killed while crossing Rockaway Parkway midblock to reach Canarsie High School, just before 8:00 a.m. Monday morning […]
Streetsblog Pledge Drive Update: Keep Up the Momentum
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Hello there Streetsblog readers — here’s my first status report on our year-end pledge drive. We’re on our way to our goal of raising $50K by the end of of the year, and we need to keep up the pace. In the last week, we’ve raised over $5,000 from about 50 donors. Tremendous gratitude goes […]
Heads Up: Columbus Ave Bike Lane Discussion Not Happening Tonight
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Adjust your calendars: Manhattan CB 7 is pushing back its full board meeting, originally scheduled for tonight, to next Tuesday, the 9th. So you have a few more days to hone your Columbus Avenue bike lane testimony.
Fred Barnes: Americans Mainly Want to Stay in Their Cars
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After yesterday’s electoral drubbing, the Obama administration will have to deal with a starkly different Congress when they make their expected push for a multi-year transportation bill early next year. We know that some influential House Republicans, like John Mica, don’t necessarily believe that bigger highways will solve America’s transportation problems. And we know that […]
Defend the Columbus Avenue Bike Lane [Updated]
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UPDATE: This meeting has been postponed to next Tuesday. We mentioned this in the calendar post on Monday but it bears repeating: If you support the new Columbus Avenue bike lane and want to see the safety benefits of pedestrian refuges and physically-separated bikeways extend elsewhere on the Upper West Side, come out to the […]
Illegal Parking in Brooklyn Heights: Scenes From the Placard Orgy
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A few weeks ago we ran an update on the Henry Street bike lane in Brooklyn Heights, where members of the First Presbyterian Church illegally park on Sundays and police look the other way. The era of NYPD-sanctioned bike lane blocking had supposedly come to an end this summer, right before primary day, when local […]