Carl Kruger

Three Down…

I wanted to post this last week, but got caught up with something or other about a bike lane. The timing worked out, though, because today we can mark an anniversary... Can you believe it's been two years to the day since we posted this picture?

By Ben Fried

7:21 PM EDT on March 18, 2011

I wanted to post this last week, but got caught up with something or other about a bike lane. The timing worked out, though, because today we can mark an anniversary… Can you believe it’s been two years to the day since we posted this picture?

Of the four State Senators who refused to put a price on NYC’s free bridges in March, 2009 — a decision that’s hurting transit riders to this day — three are now facing federal fraud, embezzlement, and/or corruption charges. This got me wondering: Is there something intrinsic to fervent defenders of free rides that makes them more likely to go crooked? Or is just about everyone in Albany corrupt, and the feds are sending shots across the bow to the ones who might mess with our transit system in the future.

Think about it.

Ben Fried

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.