Air filtration and ventilation guidance enforcement

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:

In September 2021, during discussions of fulfilling DOHMH FOIL Control #: 2021FR01203, the records access officer said "the Mayor's Office of Operations and the Mayor's Office of Data Analytics would have more comprehensive data on this and the remaining items of your request".

In October 2023, after more than two years and a breached deadline set by their own appeals officer, the Office Of The Mayor responded to FOIL 2021-002-00656 and FOIL 2021-002, with a shockingly short list of about 60 inspections. They also said:

"You may wish to direct your search to the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation".

Hence, I am expecting relevant records from this agency.

Now that more than two years have passed since I began this effort, I have considerably less patience for illegal delays. I wish to be as clear as I can be about this: I have no ill will whatsoever for the likely-overworked records access employees, but for the agencies which make it difficult to do your jobs in a timely manner. You may expect me to appeal on grounds of constructive denial should the request be illegally delayed.

The request for records, which I am now directing to this agency is:
Records relating to the total number of restaurants inspected for compliance with state pandemic air filtration and ventilating guidance.

Records relating to the total number of inspected restaurants that have installed MERV 13 filters. Also include summary statistics of the results and descriptions of the data/columns.

Records relating to the total number of inspected restaurants that have installed portable filtration or UVGI instead of MERV 13 filters. Also include summary statistics of the results and descriptions of the data/columns.

Records relating to the total number of inspected restaurants that were operating the installed filtration or UVGI systems when inspected. Also include summary statistics of the results and descriptions of the data/columns.

Records relating to the total number of inspected restaurants that have other mitigation measures in place, when MERV 13 filtration, UVGI, and portable filtration, was not in place. Also include summary statistics of the results and descriptions of the data/columns.

Records relating to the number restaurants that have been found to be or are currently out of compliance with air filtration and ventilating guidance. Also include summary statistics of the results and descriptions of the data/columns.

Should no such records exist, I request information on what records and/or statistics are collected regarding air filtration and ventilating guidance enforcement.

Furthermore, should they be available, records of the actual inspections and results.

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,

ALEXANDER RICCIO

In my prior dealings with city agency FOIL requests, I have seen the city proffer dates 60 days ahead as the expected completion date, only to further delay by 60 days on that date. More than one agency illegally repeated this at least a half dozen times.

Can I expect this FOIL request to actually be completed on or before Friday, December 15, 2023? If not, I will not hesitate to appeal on grounds of constructive denial.

Following up on my November 20 communication:
Can I expect this FOIL request to actually be completed on or before Friday, December 15, 2023? If not, I will not hesitate to appeal on grounds of constructive denial.

Following up on my November 20 communication:

Can I expect this FOIL request to actually be completed on or before Friday, December 15, 2023? If not, I will not hesitate to appeal on grounds of constructive denial.

Please confirm for me that the estimated completion date of December 15, 2023 is accurate and true.

Should this date later be revised, let the record reflect that I made efforts to work with the agency before reaching for the route of appeal on grounds of constructive denial.

The estimated completion date is about 2 business days away. Please confirm with me that that is still the accurate, true, and honest estimated completion date.

On 11/16/2023 The NYC Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) acknowledged FOIL request FOIL-2023-858-00359. And said I could expect a response on or about Friday, December 15, 2023.

On 11/20/2023, I sent the following communication:

In my prior dealings with city agency FOIL requests, I have seen the city proffer dates 60 days ahead as the expected completion date, only to further delay by 60 days on that date. More than one agency illegally repeated this at least a half dozen times.

Can I expect this FOIL request to actually be completed on or before Friday, December 15, 2023? If not, I will not hesitate to appeal on grounds of constructive denial.

Receiving nothing in response, on 11/27/2023, I sent the following communication:
Following up on my November 20 communication:
Can I expect this FOIL request to actually be completed on or before Friday, December 15, 2023? If not, I will not hesitate to appeal on grounds of constructive denial.

Still receiving nothing in response, on 12/07/2023, I sent the following communication:
Please confirm for me that the estimated completion date of December 15, 2023 is accurate and true.

Should this date later be revised, let the record reflect that I made efforts to work with the agency before reaching for the route of appeal on grounds of constructive denial.

At no point did the agency indicate that the declared estimated completion date was not going to be met for any specific reason. Unless the agency was deliberately misleading, the agency should reasonably be expected to provide documents by the estimated completion date. Indeed, many other city agencies violate the FOIL law by using the Open Government platforms mass extension functionality, merely delaying responses by 20 business days at a time, continually.

Still having heard no response, on 12/13/2023, I sent the following communication:
The estimated completion date is about 2 business days away. Please confirm with me that that is still the accurate, true, and honest estimated completion date

On 12/15/2023, the agency responded by delaying completion of the request. They have provided no explanation for why the completion date of the request could not reasonably be for seen to have been missed. I have no reason to believe they expect to keep the revised completion date.

This is a constructive denial and I am appealing it as such.

The FOIL management program that I use appears to be having trouble delivering an appeal request, so I am copying the appeal here:

On 11/16/2023 The NYC Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) acknowledged FOIL request FOIL-2023-858-00359. And said I could expect a response on or about Friday, December 15, 2023.

On 11/20/2023, I sent the following communication:

In my prior dealings with city agency FOIL requests, I have seen the city proffer dates 60 days ahead as the expected completion date, only to further delay by 60 days on that date. More than one agency illegally repeated this at least a half dozen times.

Can I expect this FOIL request to actually be completed on or before Friday, December 15, 2023? If not, I will not hesitate to appeal on grounds of constructive denial.

Receiving nothing in response, on 11/27/2023, I sent the following communication:
Following up on my November 20 communication:
Can I expect this FOIL request to actually be completed on or before Friday, December 15, 2023? If not, I will not hesitate to appeal on grounds of constructive denial.

Still receiving nothing in response, on 12/07/2023, I sent the following communication:
Please confirm for me that the estimated completion date of December 15, 2023 is accurate and true.

Should this date later be revised, let the record reflect that I made efforts to work with the agency before reaching for the route of appeal on grounds of constructive denial.

At no point did the agency indicate that the declared estimated completion date was not going to be met for any specific reason. Unless the agency was deliberately misleading, the agency should reasonably be expected to provide documents by the estimated completion date. Indeed, many other city agencies violate the FOIL law by using the Open Government platforms mass extension functionality, merely delaying responses by 20 business days at a time, continually.

Still having heard no response, on 12/13/2023, I sent the following communication:
The estimated completion date is about 2 business days away. Please confirm with me that that is still the accurate, true, and honest estimated completion date

On 12/15/2023, the agency responded by delaying completion of the request. They have provided no explanation for why the completion date of the request could not reasonably be for seen to have been missed. I have no reason to believe they expect to keep the revised completion date.

This is a constructive denial and I am appealing it as such.

I have yet to receive acknowledgement of my 12/15/2023 appeal.

Given that, I have little confidence that the agencies proposed completion date of Wednesday, January 31, 2024, will be met.

If the agency neither addresses my appeal nor provides responsive documents, I do not know of any remaining administrative remedy. This is grounds for legal action.

I have yet to receive acknowledgement of my 12/15/2023 appeal.

Given that, I have little confidence that the agencies proposed completion date of Wednesday, January 31, 2024, will be met.

If the agency neither addresses my appeal nor provides responsive documents, I do not know of any remaining administrative remedy. This is grounds for legal action.

I have yet to receive acknowledgement of my 12/15/2023 appeal.

Given that, I have little confidence that the agencies proposed completion date of Wednesday, January 31, 2024, will be met. I do not even sincerely believe that it was proposed as a likely completion date, likely instead just sent out by using the bulk extend function of the open FOIL platform.

If the agency neither addresses my appeal nor provides responsive documents, I do not know of any remaining administrative remedy. This is grounds for legal action. I really don't want to do that - don't force the city into expensive legal action.

Since OTI appears to not review the open FOIL platform, I will be trying to send this through several channels, including snail mail, and emailing to discoverable office emails.

I have yet to receive acknowledgement of my 12/15/2023 appeal.

Given that, I have little confidence that the agencies proposed completion date of Wednesday, January 31, 2024, will be met. I do not even sincerely believe that it was proposed as a likely completion date, likely instead just sent out by using the bulk extend function of the open FOIL platform.

If the agency neither addresses my appeal nor provides responsive documents, I do not know of any remaining administrative remedy. This is grounds for legal action. I really don't want to do that - don't force the city into expensive legal action.

Since OTI appears to not review the open FOIL platform, I will be trying to send this through several channels, including snail mail, and emailing to discoverable office emails.

I have yet to receive acknowledgement of my 12/15/2023 appeal.

Given that, I have little confidence that the agencies proposed completion date of Wednesday, January 31, 2024, will be met. I do not even sincerely believe that it was proposed as a likely completion date, likely instead just sent out by using the bulk extend function of the open FOIL platform.

If the agency neither addresses my appeal nor provides responsive documents, I do not know of any remaining administrative remedy. This is grounds for legal action. I really don't want to do that - don't force the city into expensive legal action.

Since OTI appears to not review the open FOIL platform, I will be trying to send this through several channels, including snail mail, and emailing to discoverable office emails.

I have yet to receive acknowledgement of my 12/15/2023 appeal.

Given that, I have little confidence that the agencies proposed completion date of Wednesday, January 31, 2024, will be met. I do not even sincerely believe that it was proposed as a likely completion date, likely instead just sent out by using the bulk extend function of the open FOIL platform.

If the agency neither addresses my appeal nor provides responsive documents, I do not know of any remaining administrative remedy. This is grounds for legal action. I really don't want to do that - don't force the city into expensive legal action.

Since OTI appears to not review the open FOIL platform, I will be trying to send this through several channels, including snail mail, and emailing to discoverable office emails.

Suspecting that the Wednesday, January 31, 2024 deadline was not likely to be met, on 12/15/2023 I attempted to appeal.

Let the record reflect that not only have yet I to receive acknowledgement of said appeal before the passing of the agency's own proposed completion date, but that the agency has proffered a template extension letter with a new completion date of Thursday, March 14, 2024, and provided no individualized reasoning to suggest it would be met this time.

At no point before the Wednesday, January 31, 2024 deadline did the agency notify me of any unforeseeable reason for delay.

Hello there! I'm very glad to finally be getting real data - it's been three years of chasing various agencies to get this.

I do have several questions.

The filename includes the word "redacted", but it's an excel spreadsheet, so I obviously can't see any markup. Can you tell me what's been redacted?

Are there any descriptions or notes available in city records for the columns?

Who was the records holder/owner for this dataset? Who was responsible for maintaining it.

There are easily tens of thousands of establishments for which many fields are empty. Is data missing? Have those fields been withheld?

One local establishment, the Beach Cafe on 2nd, has yes entries for symptom screening, soap, and many related surface sanitation checks, but empty fields for ventilation and filtration checks. I don't see a yes or no - just blank.

Some establishments that should be in this dataset appear to be missing. I'm using my my favorite pizza place as a sanity check, pizza park on 1233 first avenue, and am struggling to find it. Is there any reason it would be missing or withheld?

Hi,

Thanks for clarifying. However disappointing it is to know there's no more available info on missing inspections, I appreciate that it is out of your hands.

Sincerely,
ALEXANDER RICCIO

I think so!

It's hard to say for sure of course (unknown unknowns, ya know)

Go ahead and formally mark as complete.