City Hall Emails Containing References to Marijuana

J.K. Trotter filed this request with the Office of the Mayor of New York City, NY.
Tracking #

2014-0375

Status
Completed

Communications

From: J.K. Trotter

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:

All emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contain any of the following terms:

— "Weed"
— "Pot"
— "Cannabis"
— "Marijuana"
— "Drugs"
— "Smoking"
— "Smoke"

Records requested include any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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,

J.K. Trotter

From: e-FOIL

Request ID: 2014-0375
Dear J.K. Trotter:
This email is to acknowledge receipt of your request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law received on 12/17/2014 1:34PM, for the following records:
"To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:

All emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contain any of the following terms:

— "Weed"
— "Pot"
— "Cannabis"
— "Marijuana"
— "Drugs"
— "Smoking"
— "Smoke"

Records requested include any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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."
Please note that although the Mayor’s Office receives a significant volume of FOIL requests, the Mayor’s Office strives to respond to all FOIL requests in a timely manner in the order in which they are received. Upon receiving a FOIL request, the Mayor’s Office endeavors to identify records responsive to your request. The time required to perform this search typically depends on the breadth of records requested. If records are identified that are potentially responsive, the Mayor’s Office must review those records to determine if any are not subject to disclosure under FOIL. For more information about what records are and are not subject to disclosure under FOIL, please see:
http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/foil2.html (http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/foil2.html)
We are currently investigating your request. We will provide an estimate of when we will be able to make a determination once we assess the scope of the request. Please make a note that to check the status of your request in the future, it has been assigned tracking number 2014-0375.
Sincerely,
Kiren Gopal
Special Advisor to the Counsel
Records Access Officer

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Dec. 17, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-0375.

Thank you for your help.

From: e-FOIL

Dear Mr./Ms. Trotter,
This email is to update you on your FOIL request submitted on 12/17/2014 for:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:

All emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contain any of the following terms:

— "Weed"
— "Pot"
— "Cannabis"
— "Marijuana"
— "Drugs"
— "Smoking"
— "Smoke"

Records requested include any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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."
We have reviewed your request and estimate that we will be able to provide a determination on or before 05/02/2015.
Please note that although the Mayor’s Office receives a significant volume of FOIL requests, the Mayor’s Office strives to respond to all FOIL requests in a timely manner in the order in which they are received and we thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
The Office of the Mayor

From: e-FOIL

Dear Mr./Ms. Trotter,
This email is to update you on your FOIL request submitted on 12/17/2014 for:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:

All emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contain any of the following terms:

— "Weed"
— "Pot"
— "Cannabis"
— "Marijuana"
— "Drugs"
— "Smoking"
— "Smoke"

Records requested include any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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."
Due to the volume of requests that we have received, we now estimate that we will be able to provide a determination on or before 06/10/2015.
Please note that although the Mayor’s Office receives a significant volume of FOIL requests, the Mayor’s Office strives to respond to all FOIL requests in a timely manner in the order in which they are received and we thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
The Office of the Mayor

From: e-FOIL

Dear Mr./Ms. Trotter,
This email is to update you on your FOIL request submitted on 12/17/2014 for:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:

All emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contain any of the following terms:

— "Weed"
— "Pot"
— "Cannabis"
— "Marijuana"
— "Drugs"
— "Smoking"
— "Smoke"

Records requested include any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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."
Due to the volume of requests that we have received, we now estimate that we will be able to provide a determination on or before 08/07/2015.
Please note that although the Mayor’s Office receives a significant volume of FOIL requests, the Mayor’s Office strives to respond to all FOIL requests in a timely manner in the order in which they are received and we thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
The Office of the Mayor

From: Chiu, Bess

Dear Mr. Trotter,

I'd like to speak with you about your FOIL request, FOIL ID # 2014-0375.

Please give me a call at 212-341-5092 at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,
Bess Chiu
Office of the Counsel to the Mayor

From: e-FOIL

Dear Mr./Ms. Trotter,
This email is to update you on your FOIL request submitted on 12/17/2014 for:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:

All emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contain any of the following terms:

— "Weed"
— "Pot"
— "Cannabis"
— "Marijuana"
— "Drugs"
— "Smoking"
— "Smoke"

Records requested include any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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."
Due to the volume of requests that we have received, we now estimate that we will be able to provide a determination on or before 10/02/2015.
Please note that although the Mayor’s Office receives a significant volume of FOIL requests, the Mayor’s Office strives to respond to all FOIL requests in a timely manner in the order in which they are received and we thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
The Office of the Mayor

From: e-FOIL

Dear Mr./Ms. Trotter,
This email is to update you on your FOIL request submitted on 12/17/2014 for:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:

All emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contain any of the following terms:

— "Weed"
— "Pot"
— "Cannabis"
— "Marijuana"
— "Drugs"
— "Smoking"
— "Smoke"

Records requested include any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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."
Due to the volume of requests that we have received, we now estimate that we will be able to provide a determination on or before 12/04/2015.
Please note that although the Mayor’s Office receives a significant volume of FOIL requests, the Mayor’s Office strives to respond to all FOIL requests in a timely manner in the order in which they are received and we thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
The Office of the Mayor

From: J.K. Trotter

Hello,

I just wanted to memorialize my conversation with Bess Chiu on October 26, 2015, regarding FOIL request #2014-0375. As I discussed with her, I kindly ask that the Office of the Mayor begin fulfilling my request on a rolling basis, and as soon as possible. By December 4—the new estimated date of completion—it will have been 355 days since I filed the request.

Thank you, and sincerely,
J.K. Trotter

From: Joseph, Brandon

Dear Mr. Trotter:

Please see attached for a response to your FOIL request.

Sincerely,

Brandon Joseph
Paralegal
Office of the Counsel to the Mayor

From: Joseph, Brandon

Dear Mr. Trotter:

Please see attached for a response to your FOIL request.

Sincerely,

Brandon Joseph
Paralegal
Office of the Counsel to the Mayor

From: J.K. Trotter

Hi Brandon,

Thank you for sending this. The records you sent date between January 2014 and June 2014. My request was for records between January 2014 and December 2014. Will you be sending those records later?

Thanks,
J.K. Trotter

From: Joseph, Brandon

Dear Mr. Trotter,

We estimate making a further determination regarding whether any additional responsive records exist on or before December 18, 2015.

Sincerely,

Brandon Joseph
Paralegal
Office of the Counsel to the Mayor

From: e-FOIL

Dear Mr./Ms. Trotter,
This email is to update you on your FOIL request submitted on 12/17/2014 for:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:

All emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contain any of the following terms:

— "Weed"
— "Pot"
— "Cannabis"
— "Marijuana"
— "Drugs"
— "Smoking"
— "Smoke"

Records requested include any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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."
Due to the volume of requests that we have received, we now estimate that we will be able to provide a determination on or before 01/08/2016.
Please note that although the Mayor’s Office receives a significant volume of FOIL requests, the Mayor’s Office strives to respond to all FOIL requests in a timely manner in the order in which they are received and we thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
The Office of the Mayor

From: e-FOIL

Dear Mr./Ms. Trotter,
This email is to update you on your FOIL request submitted on 12/17/2014 for:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:

All emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contain any of the following terms:

— "Weed"
— "Pot"
— "Cannabis"
— "Marijuana"
— "Drugs"
— "Smoking"
— "Smoke"

Records requested include any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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."
Due to the volume of requests that we have received, we now estimate that we will be able to provide a determination on or before 02/05/2016.
Please note that although the Mayor’s Office receives a significant volume of FOIL requests, the Mayor’s Office strives to respond to all FOIL requests in a timely manner in the order in which they are received and we thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
The Office of the Mayor

From: e-FOIL

Dear Mr./Ms. Trotter,
This email is to update you on your FOIL request submitted on 12/17/2014 for:
“To Whom It May Concern:Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:All emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contain any of the following terms:— "Weed"— "Pot"— "Cannabis"— "Marijuana"— "Drugs"— "Smoking"— "Smoke"Records requested include any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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."
Due to the volume of requests that we have received, we now estimate that we will be able to provide a determination on or before 04/01/2016.
Please note that although the Mayor’s Office receives a significant volume of FOIL requests, the Mayor’s Office strives to respond to all FOIL requests in a timely manner in the order in which they are received and we thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
The Office of the Mayor

From: e-FOIL

Dear Mr./Ms. Trotter,
This email is to update you on your FOIL request submitted on 12/17/2014 for:
“To Whom It May Concern:Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:All emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contain any of the following terms:— "Weed"— "Pot"— "Cannabis"— "Marijuana"— "Drugs"— "Smoking"— "Smoke"Records requested include any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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."
Due to the volume of requests that we have received, we now estimate that we will be able to provide a determination on or before 05/13/2016.
Please note that although the Mayor’s Office receives a significant volume of FOIL requests, the Mayor’s Office strives to respond to all FOIL requests in a timely manner in the order in which they are received and we thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
The Office of the Mayor

From: J.K. Trotter

Hello,

I am writing in regard to my FOIL request, which was submitted to the Mayor’s Office on December 17, 2014, and assigned the tracking number of 2014-0375.

On December 4, 2015, the Mayor’s Office fulfilled half of my amended request, which sought copies of all emails, dated between January 1 2014 and December 31 2014, that were received or sent by any employee of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Press Office and contained the terms “weed,” “cannabis,” and/or “marijuana”; as well as any emails sent by reporters or journalists to any Press Office employee concerning rumors or reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio consumes marijuana/cannabis.

Specifically, the Mayor’s Office provided me with emails matching my request dated between January 1 2014 and June 17 2014, while indicating that it would fulfill the rest of the request—for emails dated between June 18 2014 and December 31 2014—at a later time.

Since fulfilling the first half of my request, the Mayor’s Office has repeatedly delayed fulfilling the second half. The letter fulfilling the first half of the request, dated December 4 2015, indicated that any further determination would occur by December 18. On December 18, I received an email indicating that the rest of the request would be fulfilled on January 8 2016. On January 8, I received an email indicating the date had been moved again, to February 5. On February 5, I received another email indicating the date had been moved again, to April 1. On April 1, I received another email indicating the date had been moved against, to May 13.

These delays, concerning a request filed in December 2014 for documents that are stored and accessed electronically, have become completely unreasonable. By repeatedly pushing back the date in which the second half of the request will be fulfilled, the Mayor’s Office is falling into the same pattern they demonstrated while fulfilling the first, causing an onerous amount of time to elapse between the initial request and its actual fulfillment. That a FOIL response is taking a year and a half to properly fulfill, even after being substantially narrowed at the Mayor’s Office request, is in clear violation of the Freedom of Information Law’s spirit, which is intended to provide a degree of transparency to government agencies in New York State.

The current due date for the fulfillment of my request’s second half is May 13 of this year. For both my and the Mayor’s Office sake, I do not wish to litigate this matter. But if my request is not fulfilled on or before that date, the Mayor’s Office will have left me with no other choice except legal remedy. These delays have deliberately and unacceptably frustrated my attempts to obtain copies of records that I am legally entitled to under New York State law.

If some other factor is impeding the fulfillment of this request, I ask that you contact me immediately.

Thank you, and sincerely,
J.K. Trotter

From: J.K. Trotter

Hello,

In your April 1 correspondence concerning this FOIL request, which was given the tracking number 2014-0375, the Office of the Mayor wrote, “Due to the volume of requests that we have received, we now estimate that we will be able to provide a determination on or before 05/13/2016. ”

Today is May 13, 2016. Is the Office of the Mayor planning to fulfill this FOIL request today?

Thank you, and sincerely,
J.K. Trotter

From: FOIL

Hello J.K.,

We were unable to reach you via phone, but wanted to let you know that we are diligently working on your request and will send all the documents to you by mid-next week.

Sincerely,

The Office of the Mayor

From: J.K. Trotter

Hello,

Thank you for the update. I will look out for the documents next week. In the meantime, is there a number I can call to speak with someone at the Office of the Mayor?

Thank you,
J.K. Trotter

From: Joseph, Brandon

Dear Mr. Trotter:

Please see attached for a response to your FOIL request.

Sincerely,

Brandon Joseph
Office of the Counsel to the Mayor

From: Joseph, Brandon

Dear Mr. Trotter:

Please see attached for a response to your FOIL request.

Sincerely,

Brandon Joseph
Office of the Counsel to the Mayor

From: Joseph, Brandon

Dear Mr. Trotter:

Please see attached for a response to your FOIL request.

Sincerely,

Brandon Joseph
Office of the Counsel to the Mayor

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