Freedom of Information Law Request
Freedom of Information Law
Under New York State Public Officers Law §87 and §89, municipalities must comply with New York State’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), hereby providing the public with access to government records.FOIL defines a record to be any information kept, held, filed, produced, or reproduced by, with or for an agency, in any physical form whatsoever. The law provides access to existing records, and therefore, an agency need not create a record in response to the request.
The City Attorney’s Office spends a considerable amount of time processing the public’s requests for official City documents under FOIL. For your convenience the City has provided many of the records on our website such as agendas, minutes, the City budget, and other such information. The search function at the top of the City’s webpage should be able to help you locate those records available on line.
How to Submit Requests for Records
If the records you seek are not available online, you may submit a FOIL request by clicking on this link: Freedom of Information Law Request form (PDF). Please note: a mailing address and other contact information is required. A FOIL request may be submitted online, by mail, in person to the City Attorney’s office, or by email.The FOIL Officer will acknowledge your request within 5 business days of its receipt and has up to 20 business days to respond to the request. All FOIL requests are logged in, forwarded to the appropriate departments for the record search and if documents are found, they are returned to the FOIL Officer for review and processing.