Find the Freedom of Information law for your state.
Check your town website for a Freedom of Information form.
New York State Committee on Open Government provides sample letters
https://opengovernment.ny.gov/sample-letters
I prefer to submit my own letter via email to the town clerk, records access officer or state agency.
Save your requests – either email or letter.
Always limit the price you may pay for the files. Otherwise you may receive hundreds of dollars of bills due upon receipt of your request.
You may inspect the record for free. Photograph each and every page in the order it is provided to you. When you see a document of interest take a photo of your hand or a red piece of paper so you can easily locate the document later.
Typically, in New York State the entity receiving the request has five days to acknowledge the request and 20-30 days to fulfill it.
If the documents are not provided you may file an appeal.
More information for FOI request in New York State may be found here:
New York State Committee on Open Government
https://opengovernment.ny.gov/
and
New York Coalition for Open Government
http://www.nyopengov.org/
For energy projects in New York State
Submit Freedom of Information Request to:
List of contact information updated on December 7, 2022
New York State Energy and Research Authority
https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/contacts/foil
Mail a written request to:
Colleen Dawson, Records Access Officer
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
17 Columbia Circle
Albany, NY 12203-6399
E-mail a written request to:
[email protected]
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
https://www.dec.ny.gov/public/373.html
Mail a written request to:
Records Access Office
Office of General Counsel
Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Albany, New York 12233
E-mail a written request to:
[email protected]
New York State Department of Ag & Markets
https://agriculture.ny.gov/foil
Mail a written request to:
Tara B. Wells
NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets
10B Airline Drive
Albany, New York 12235
E-mail a written request to:
[email protected]
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
https://parks.ny.gov/inside-our-agency/foil-requests.aspx
Mail a written request to:
Record Access Officer
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Albany, NY 12238
E-mail a written request to:
[email protected]
New York State Department of Transportation
https://www.dot.ny.gov/main/foil-form-challenge
Mail a written request to:
Records Access Officer
NYSDOT
50 Wolf Road, 6th Floor
Albany, NY 12232
E-mail a written request to:
[email protected]
US Army Corps of Engineers
CENAN-OC
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278-0090
[email protected]
Phone: 917-790-8058
Fax: 212-264-8171
Your County Industrial Development Authority
Schenectady County Clerk
https://www.schenectadycounty.com/county-clerk
Your Town
DRAFT LETTER – copy, paste and edit
YOUR STREET
YOUR TOWN STATE ZIP CODE
RECORDS ACCESS OFFICER
DEPARTMENT
STREET
TOWN STATE ZIP CODE
Transmitted via email: DEPARTMENT EMAIL ADDRESS
DATE
Re: Freedom of Information Request
Dear Records Access Officer;
Please accept this Freedom of Information request for:
Documents: Any and all documentation including, but not limited to: letters, emails, phone call records, video call records, recordings of meetings, meeting minutes, meeting transcripts, applications, site plans, renderings, drawings, agreements, documents, reports, supervisors calendar, code inspector calendar,
Dates: DATES (go back three years from the date you learned of the project)
For: PROJECT NAME, PROJECT STREET, TOWN, COUNTY, STATE, NAME OF NEAREST CROSS STREETS, GPS COORDINATES
Additional Search Terms: may be, but not limited to: NAME OF DEVELOPER, NAME OF PROPERTY OWNER, NAME OF PLANNING BOARD, ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT MAY HELP THE SEARCH.
(1) Please email the above records if possible to YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
(2) If the records cannot be emailed then please advise me of the appropriate time during normal business hours for inspecting the following records prior to obtaining copies.
(3) Please inform me of the cost of providing paper copies of the following records Cost not to exceed $25 without prior approval.
(4) If all the requested records cannot be emailed to me, please inform me by email of the portions that can be emailed and advise me of the cost for reproducing the remainder of the records requested ($0.25 per page or actual cost of reproduction).
(5) If the requested records cannot be emailed to me due to the volume of records identified in response to my request, please advise me of the actual cost of copying all records onto a thumb drive.
(6) If my request is too broad or does not reasonably describe the records, please contact me via email so that I may clarify my request, and when appropriate inform me of the manner in which records are filed, retrieved or generated.
(7) If it is necessary to modify my request please contact me at via email.
(8) If for any reason any portion of my request is denied, please inform me of the reasons for the denial in writing and provide the name, address and email address of the person or body to whom an appeal should be directed.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Respectfully,
NAME
PHONE
EMAIL
How to Appeal
Freedom of Information Law Section 89.3.(a). requires the Town to grant, deny or acknowledge Freedom of Information requests within five days.
Failure to respond within five days is considered a denial.
You may appeal a decision within 30 days of denial.
Sample Letter to Appeal a Denial
“I requested (describe the records) by written request made on __________ (date). More than five business days have passed since the receipt of the request without having received a response… or… Although the receipt of the request was acknowledged and I was informed that a response would be given by __________ (date), no response has been given. Consequently, I consider the request to have been denied, and I am appealing on that basis.
As required by the Freedom of Information Law, the head or governing body of an agency, or whomever is designated to determine appeals, is required to respond within 10 business days of the receipt of an appeal. If the records are denied on appeal, please explain the reasons for the denial fully in writing as required by law.
In addition, please be advised that the Freedom of Information Law directs agencies to send all appeals and the determinations that follow to the Committee on Open Government, Department of State, One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Ave., Albany, New York 12231.”