Staffing lists
| Submitted | Jan. 5, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Sam Mellins
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:
Lists of all employees, including name, title, length of employment, and salary, at the Post Conviction Justice Bureau
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Sam Mellins
From: Kings County District Attorney's Office
Dear Mr. Mellins,
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your January 4, 2023 email, in which you seek records pursuant to New York Public Officers Law, Article 6, sections 84 et seq., the Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”).
Please be advised that your request is being processed and a search for responsive records has commenced. Based upon an initial review of your request, and an estimate of what is required to complete it, this agency has determined that it will be unable to respond to your request in full within the next twenty (20) business days. The reasons we cannot process your request within the next twenty (20) business days include:
1. The volume of the requests we received prior to yours.
1. The work needed to process said requests,
1. The fact that this agency processes requests in the order in which they are received,
1. The anticipated size of the files from which you have requested records,
1. The fact that the records you requested may not be contained within a single, readily identifiable, on-site source, and, most significantly,
1. The fact that this Office’s Records Access Officers (RAOs), are still tackling a Covid-related backlog of FOIL requests that accrued over a two-year period wherein, due to limited on-site staffing, we were unable to access our physical files.
For these reasons, you can expect a determination on or about May 5, 2023, which date is “reasonable under the circumstances of (your) request(s).” within the meaning of Public Officers Law § 89(3)(a). See Data Tree, LLC v. Romaine, 9 N.Y.3d 454, 465 (2007) ([T]ime needed to comply with a request may be dependent on a number of factors, including the volume of the request and the retrieval methods. Compliance with FOIL request may require substantial time and may not require agency to provide such records in a time other than that which is reasonable in view of the attendant circumstances). In the determination any statutorily authorized fees incurred in processing your request will be listed. These fees must be paid before this agency will release any records. Pub Off. L. § 87(1)(b)(iii).
If you do not receive a determination by that the date set forth above, please do not hesitate to contact us. Alternatively, you may appeal a “constructive denial” upon the expiration of that date by writing to: George B. Forbes, Esq., FOIL Appeals Officer, Kings County District Attorney’s Office, 350 Jay Street, 20th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. ADA Forbes is copied on this email.
----------------------------------------
Sincerely,
Douglas O’Connell
Paralegal Supervisor
FOIL Records Access Officer
(718) 250-4742
Kings County District Attorney's Office
FOIL Office
350 Jay Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
January 5, 2023
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:
Lists of all employees, including name, title, length of employment, and salary, at the Post Conviction Justice Bureau
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Sam Mellins
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This email communication and any files transmitted with it contain privileged and confidential information from the Kings County District Attorney's Office and are intended solely for the use of the individuals or entity to whom it has been addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please delete it and notify the sender by return email.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 5, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Kings County District Attorney's Office
Mr. Mellins,
As you were advised below, you can expect a determination on or about May 5, 2023, which date is "reasonable under the circumstances of (your) request(s)." within the meaning of Public Officers Law § 89(3)(a). See Data Tree, LLC v. Romaine, 9 N.Y.3d 454, 465 (2007) ([T]ime needed to comply with a request may be dependent on a number of factors, including the volume of the request and the retrieval methods. Compliance with FOIL request may require substantial time and may not require agency to provide such records in a time other than that which is reasonable in view of the attendant circumstances).
If you do not receive a determination by the date set forth above, please do not hesitate to contact us. Alternatively, you may appeal a "constructive denial" upon the expiration of that date by writing to: George B. Forbes, Esq., FOIL Appeals Officer, Kings County District Attorney's Office, 350 Jay Street, 20th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. ADA Forbes is copied on this email.
----------------------------------------
Sincerely,
Douglas O’Connell
Paralegal Supervisor
FOIL Records Access Officer
(718) 250-4742
From: Sam Mellins
Dear Records Access Officer:
This is an appeal of BKDA's determination on 1/23/23, regarding the above request. BKDA has constructively denied my request. The possible return date of 1/5/23 -- more than four months after the request was filed – is unreasonable, given the narrow scope of the request.
Because of this appeal, BKDA is required by law to provide specific reasons within 10 business days explaining why this request cannot be filled, or else, must provide the records sought.
According to the Committee on Open Government, if a government entity acknowledges that a request has been received, but has failed to grant access by the specific date given beyond twenty business days, or if the specific date given is unreasonable, a request may be considered to have been constructively denied (see §89[4][a]). In such a circumstance, the denial may be appealed in accordance with §89(4)(a), which states in relevant part that:
“...any person denied access to a record may within thirty days appeal in writing such denial to the head, chief executive or governing body of the entity, or the person therefore designated by such head, chief executive, or governing body, who shall within ten business days of the receipt of such appeal fully explain in writing to the person requesting the record the reasons for further denial, or provide access to the record sought.”
I, on behalf of New York Focus, am requesting either you fill this FOIL request, or else provide a full explanation as to the reason for the denial, as required by law, of this public record.
Sincerely,
Sam Mellins
Senior Reporter, New York Focus
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 5, 2023. You previously indicated that it would be completed on May 5, 2023. I wanted to let you know that I am still interested in the following documents, and to see if that date was still accurate.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 5, 2023. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on May 5, 2023. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 5, 2023. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on May 5, 2023. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 5, 2023. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on May 5, 2023. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 5, 2023. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on May 5, 2023. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 5, 2023. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on May 5, 2023. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Sam Mellins
Hello,
Due to non-response to my FOIL request I am appealing and requesting that the appeals officer order BKDA's staff to provide me with records sought.
Sam Mellins
From: Kings County District Attorney's Office
Mr. Mellins,
Attached please find ADA Carroll’s determination regarding your FOIL Appeal.
___________________________
Sincerely,
Douglas O’Connell
Paralegal Supervisor
FOIL Records Access Officer
(718) 250-4742
From: Kings County District Attorney's Office
A letter stating that the request appeal has been received and is being processed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 5, 2023. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on May 5, 2023. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Kings County District Attorney's Office
Mr. Mellins,
Attached please find this Office's determination regarding your request for records pursuant to New York Public Officers Law, Article 6, sections 84 et seq., the Freedom of Information Law ("FOIL"), together with the requested data. You may appeal from this determination within thirty (30) days by writing to: John C. Carroll, Esq., FOIL Appeals Officer, Kings County District Attorney's Office, 350 Jay Street, 20th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. ADA Carroll is copied on this email.
___________________________
Sincerely,
Douglas O'Connell
Paralegal Supervisor
FOIL Records Access Officer
(718) 250-4742
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Mellins, Sam (PCJB) FOIL Determination
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