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
Results of the New PPW: Speeding Down Dramatically, Cycling Up Big
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Kate Hinds at Transportation Nation got her hands on an advance copy of DOT’s Prospect Park West radar gun study and cyclist counts [PDF]. The data on traffic speeds confirm the results that Park Slope Neighbors observed this summer: The new configuration — two traffic lanes and a two-way protected bike path instead of three […]
DOT Launches Speed Limit PSAs; NYPD to Target Speeding, Failure-to-Yield
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NYC DOT and NYPD jointly announced some new street safety initiatives today. Harking back to the release this summer of DOT’s Pedestrian Safety Study and Action Plan, Janette Sadik-Khan and Ray Kelly came out with plans to increase awareness about the dangers of speeding and to target more police enforcement on speeding and failure-to-yield violations. […]
Marty’s Message
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I’m with Naparstek. This was the sign of the day.
Hundreds Rally in Support of Prospect Park West Bike Lane
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Hundreds of Brooklynites gathered this morning at Grand Army Plaza to show their support for the redesigned Prospect Park West. They made a statement that should be hard for elected officials and the press to miss: Most people who live in the neighborhoods near PPW like biking and walking on the new, traffic-calmed street and […]
The Other Livable Streets Showdown in Park Slope Tomorrow
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By now you’ve probably heard about the big rally to defend the Prospect Park West bike lane tomorrow morning. Everyone who can attend should make every effort to get to Grand Army Plaza at 8:00 a.m. and show how deep the support for the PPW re-design runs. There’s another event happening tomorrow that has big […]
Records From Critical Mass Court Case Spell Out NYPD Overkill
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David Goodman at the Times’ City Room blog has an excellent piece up this afternoon about the resources NYPD spent to police Critical Mass bike rides in the two-year wake of the 2004 Republican National Convention. A federal lawsuit stemming from those police actions reached its conclusion this week, with the city paying out nearly […]
Three Myths From Marty About the PPW Bike Lane
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It’s showtime for the Prospect Park West bike lane, with a bike lane protest and a rally for the redesign coming up tomorrow morning. In a prelude to the big day, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is making some rounds in the media. The Brooklyn Paper and NY1 got some choice quotes from the beep, […]
Last Night’s Gov Debate: Cuomo Piles on in MTA Bash-a-Thon
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Try this little experiment. Click over to the video of last night’s seven-candidate gubernatorial debate. Start at the 55:30 mark, then close your eyes and listen to seven solid minutes of MTA bashing. Which of those candidates is the presumptive governor-in-waiting with a 35-point lead in the latest poll and, presumably, some political leeway to […]
Anyone Park Your Bike on Vanderbilt Ave This Weekend?
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If you did and you woke up on Sunday to find your tires shredded, you can find the backstory on the Brooklynian forum. Apparently, a misanthropic type went on a bike tire slashing spree Saturday night along Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights. A witness reports seeing “an older man in a hooded sweatshirt, looking like […]
Take the PPW Bike Lane Survey
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We’ve got an addendum to today’s news about Prospect Park West bike lane demonstrations. City Council members Brad Lander and Steve Levin have put up a survey to see what their constituents think of the re-designed street. The questions get pretty detailed but it only takes a few minutes to fill out. In related news, […]
Next Thursday: A Neighborly Rally for the Traffic-Calming PPW Bike Lane
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Mark next Thursday on your calendars. It’s a critical day for one of the city’s most innovative livable streets projects. If you care about safer streets, it’s going to be an excellent time to respectfully show your support in public. That morning, at 8:30, opponents of the Prospect Park West bike lane are holding an […]
Crain’s Asks: Should Manhattan Give Up on Bike Lanes?
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This poll on the Crain’s site has been tearing through the Twitterverse rather ferociously this afternoon: I dunno. Should NYC call it quits after a few successful years of trying something new on the streets? Should the city give up on policies that are reducing injuries to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists? With bike traffic into […]