Inventory listing of all microfilm and microfiche holdings of the New York City Municipal Archives
| Tracking # |
FOIL-2018-860-00039 |
| Submitted | March 9, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Reclaim The Records
Dear Mr. Cobb,
Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I am writing on behalf of the non-profit organization Reclaim The Records to request a copy of the inventory list (or finding aid) to all microfilm rolls and/or microfiche sheets that are currently in possession of the NYC Municipal Archives, owned by the NYC Municipal Archives, or created by the NYC Municipal Archives. This would an inventory be for any films or fiche regardless of whether they're available for public viewing or not, as well as for any films or fiche stored in "the vault" or other locations. It would presumably be a list with some kind of unique ID number or box number for each film/fiche, the title of the film/fiche, the contents of the film/fiche (record type, years, boroughs, etc.), the format of the film/fiche (16 mm, 35 mm, etc.), the current location of the film/fiche, etc.
Surely you have a spreadsheet, or several spreadsheets, like this somewhere at the Archives, or else paper sheets that could be scanned or copied? This seems like a crucial and obvious piece of information that should have been available to the public long ago, and put on the Municipal Archives' website too, so that the public will know what you hold.
I would prefer my records be delivered in digital form, such as the original spreadsheet or database files (CSV, XLS, SQL, etc.) if they are available. I am willing to pay for a USB drive to put the digital files on, but if there aren't that many I would accept delivery by instant file transfer and download through a website like Dropbox of an FTP server. For non-digital assets like paper inventory lists, I would prefer digital scans to paper copies. And if some of this microfilm/microfiche inventory is itself on microfilm, I would accept a copy of that microfilm too, if there isn't an easier way to get the data.
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 look forward to your prompt response within five business days, as required by law. Feel free to reach out by phone or e-mail if you'd like to discuss this matter further -- I'm sure you still have my contact information from the last time we had to sue you to get public access to public records.
Sincerely,
Brooke Schreier Ganz
Founder and President of Reclaim The Records
https://www.ReclaimTheRecords.org/
From: Department of Records and Information Services
Your request FOIL-2018-860-00039 has been successfully submitted to the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS). The details of your request are shown below.
Request Title: Inventory listing of all microfilm and microfiche holdings of the NYC Municipal Archives
Request Description: Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I am writing on behalf of the non-profit organization Reclaim The Records to request a copy of the inventory list (or finding aid) to all microfilm rolls and/or microfiche sheets that are currently in possession of the NYC Municipal Archives, owned by the NYC Municipal Archives, or created by the NYC Municipal Archives. This would an inventory be for any films or fiche regardless of whether they're available for public viewing or not, as well as for any films or fiche stored in "the vault" or other locations. It would presumably be a list with some kind of unique ID number or box number for each film/fiche, the title of the film/fiche, the contents of the film/fiche (record type, years, boroughs, etc.), the format of the film/fiche (16 mm, 35 mm, etc.), the current location of the film/fiche, etc.Surely you have a spreadsheet, or several spreadsheets, like this somewhere at the Archives, or else paper sheets that could be scanned or copied? This seems like a crucial and obvious piece of information that should have been available to the public long ago, and put on the Municipal Archives' website too, so that the public will know what you hold.I would prefer my records be delivered in digital form, such as the original spreadsheet or database files (CSV, XLS, SQL, etc.) if they are available. I am willing to pay for a USB drive to put the digital files on, but if there aren't that many I would accept delivery by instant file transfer and download through a website like Dropbox of an FTP server. For non-digital assets like paper inventory lists, I would prefer digital scans to paper copies. And if some of this microfilm/microfiche inventory is itself on microfilm, I would accept a copy of that microfilm too, if there isn't an easier way to get the data.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 look forward to your prompt response within five business days, as required by law. Feel free to reach out by phone or e-mail if you'd like to discuss this matter further -- I'm sure you still have my contact information from the last time we had to sue you to get public access to public records.Sincerely,Brooke Schreier GanzFounder and President of Reclaim The Recordshttps://www.ReclaimTheRecords.org/
Requester's Contact Information
Name:
Brooke Schreier Ganz
Email:
requests@muckrock.com (mailto:requests@muckrock.com)
Phone Number:
Not provided
Fax Number:
Not provided
Street Address (line 1):
MuckRock News DEPT MR 50397
Street Address (line 2):
411A Highland Ave
City:
Not provided
State:
Not provided
Zip Code:
Not provided
You can view the request and take any necessary action at the following webpage: https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2018-860-00039. (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2018-860-00039)
From: Department of Records and Information Services
The Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) has acknowledged your FOIL request FOIL-2018-860-00039. (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2018-860-00039) You can expect a response on or about Wednesday, May 2, 2018.
Additional Information:
Note: FOIL request received via email 03/09/2018 to Kcobb@records.nyc.gov; requestor information entered into OpenRecords portal 03/13/2018.
Please visit
FOIL-2018-860-00039 to view additional information and take any necessary action. (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2018-860-00039)
From: Department of Records and Information Services
The Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) has responded to your FOIL request FOIL-2018-860-00039 with the following file(s). (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2018-860-00039) The file(s) listed below will be accessible to the public on the OpenRecords portal in 20 business days ( Thursday, May 31, 2018).
The requested inventories of Department of Records & Information Services (DORIS) – Municipal Archives microfilm holdings are provided. N.B. Most vital record microfilms were produced by non-DORIS entities, e.g. NYC Department of Health, Office of the City Clerk, Genealogical Society of Utah, and there are not extant item-level inventories of these series.
* Mayor McClellan s.f.: Mayor_McClellan_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103965?token=9f530935ac0b4b9b95d24cf0e0ef47eb)
* Mayors prior 1878: Micofilmed_Series_Inventories_-_Mayors_prior_to_1878.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103966?token=13807bf00cde4d78aafa9fe9539313c0)
* Mayor Walker: Mayor_Walker_Departmental_Correspondence_Received.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103967?token=1f33d5f3747a494eb3bc220c5ea34f57)
* Mayor Beame s.f.: Office_of_Mayor_Beame_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103968?token=6bbdad58edc54dd999b40b35eea55f7f)
* Mayor Gaynor s.f.: Mayor_Gaynor_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103969?token=1731bff39ff94dd18266022b509754cc)
* Mayor Lindsay departmental: Lindsay_Departmental_Correspondence.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103970?token=ce6358d0d64e4e39aa299ee4fe3e2fcc)
* Mayor Van Wyck departmental: Mayor_Van_Wyck_Departmental_Correspondence.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103971?token=020cd43df65a4cb2b7e43dad8f4bbf73)
* Mayor LaGuardia departmental: Mayor_LaGuardia_Departmental_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103972?token=2d11755f66d54c03b5e64df844e90e79)
* LaGuardia Federal officials: Mayor_Laguardia_Correspondence_with_Federal_Officials.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103973?token=1650994cc0494017b0a01bc57697a16b)
* NYDA indictments 1840-49 inventory: New_York_District_Attorney_-_Indictments__1840-1849.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103974?token=6f6bc70f77af42aba62325c898d22dda)
* Bronx DA microfilm inventory: Bronx_District_Attorney_-_Hauptman_-_Lindbergh_case_file.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103975?token=7fed49af1f134449a7f85d34264c89bc)
* Mayor Van Wyck s.f.: Mayor_Van_Wyck_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103976?token=d0e0e5d50e5646f0879db2a867042db1)
* Mayor Beame scrapbooks: Mayor_Beame_-_Scrapbooks_-_News.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103977?token=bbee10fa7086414091a85e8fdb37acd8)
* Mayor Low: Mayor_Low_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103978?token=5137c3c086bd48719c09c7fa21359504)
* NYDA indictments inventory 1799-1829: New_York_District_Attorney_Indictments__1799-1829.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103979?token=bf02685abe7046f4a78f027bff5a93be)
* Mayor Gilroy: Mayor_Gilroy.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103980?token=6d1d2376e74641818f4fa2c00ebf8bab)
* Mayor Lindsay s.f.: Lindsay_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103981?token=6d2a173a7c274065828aeecc27d57845)
* Estate Inventories 90-113: Estate_Inventories_Accession_90-113.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103982?token=d41409a19b164fa39d0a8d0aaae3bd7b)
* Mayor Mitchel departmental received police: Mayor_Mitchel_Departmental_Correspondence_Received_-Police.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103983?token=e3b46ba5ca6e439b8b51e68f8024fee6)
* Mayor O'Dwyer departmental: Mayor_ODwyer_Departmental_Correspondence.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103984?token=bfc366342c844ebaac3b556b797f8c50)
* Master Microfilm Cabinet Inventory: Dept._of_Records__Info._Services_-_Municipal_Archives_Divsion_Master_Microfilm_Cabinet_Inventory_May_2018.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103985?token=9fe305811c614e3eb575186003354d6f)
* Mayor Beame Electeds: Office_of_Mayor_Beame_Correspondence_with_Elected_Officials.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103986?token=af5146bea0f44aaba2f5c1475e14c5f2)
* Mayor Mitchel departmental sent: Mayor_Mitchel_Departmental_Correspondence_Sent.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103987?token=a889c5730fbd4e6a94aa76496512dbd0)
* Mayor Lindsay scrapbooks: Lindsay_Scrapbooks.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103988?token=ad6d553ab0aa4b559f473205be4ff4e6)
* NYDA indictments inventory 1860-69: New_York_District_Attorney_-_Indictments__1860-1869.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103989?token=679023c83d3d4fcba0c63cd95a9d3542)
* Minutes of the Court of General Sessions inventory: Minutes_of_New_York_County_Court_of_General_Sessions.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103990?token=7ede705fec064a5a9a79afeb190874c4)
* Mayor Beame - Cavanagh: Office_of_Mayor_Beame_-_Deputy_Mayor_Cavanagh_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103991?token=3f832581776d4501ab581f459ad1d0f4)
* Mayor Wagner departmental: Mayor_Wagner_Departmental_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103992?token=11e0922a00d141ca8e36c0724f7fe06a)
* Mayor Mitchel departmental received: Mayor_Mitchel_Departmental_Correspondence_Received.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103993?token=30a67f3b80dc47e0ba5e1182c695ac64)
* Mayor Beame speeches: Office_of_Mayor_Beame_Speeches_and_Remarks.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103994?token=ea785e54c8ce44da8b456a7acc032814)
* Mayor LaGuardia s.f.: Mayor_LaGuardia_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103995?token=d22c87107c6947a98b83d7440cb64321)
* NYDA indictments 1855 inventory: New_York_District_Attorney_-_Indictments__1855.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103996?token=48faf721b3e04b23b23965b35ca5b74d)
* Magistrate's Courts inventory: New_York_City_Magistrates_Court_Docket_Books_1800-1930.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103997?token=9d8bf68c7ccf4ee18b3295a0df7edb50)
* Mayor O'Brien: Mayor_OBrien_Departmental_Correspondence_Received.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103998?token=c3051b3dd7874860b5bf16154e375b33)
* Mayor McClellan departmental received: Mayor_McClellan_Departmental_Correspondence_Received.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/103999?token=6ee84745eed34a7e872cdb5b9cedb350)
* Mayor Koch: Mayor_Edward_Koch-_Departmental_and_Subject_Correspondence_1977-1989.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104000?token=e7348f4be26142faa300009482eff314)
* Mayor Lindsay c.f.s.: Lindsay_Subject_Files__Confidential.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104001?token=163e21cee7eb4a12ae9cb0df2184a478)
* NYDA scrapbook inventory: New_York_District_Atrorney_Newspaper_Clipping_Scrapbooks_1882-1936.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104002?token=bf9751709c3043e4ae4f14d47108de3d)
* Parks General Files: Department_of_Parks_-_General_Files_-_Microfilmed.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104003?token=1fe4778cd7af4d1c9dfa10b20924aaef)
* NYDA indictments inventory 1854: New_York_District_Attorney_-_Indictments__1854.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104004?token=04f352728b76485d9bc6403853689665)
* NYDA indictments inventory 1870-87: Nwe_York_District_Attorney_-_Indictments__1870-1887.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104005?token=ddb6e8126b3c471e8b6453cf458e35e0)
* Robert Moses: Department_of_Parks_--_Commissioer_Robert_Moses.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104006?token=8e57b8e019c24438837cd0ef1a9982e0)
* Mayor LaGuardia civil defense: Mayor_LaGuardia_Civil_Defense__Office_of.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104007?token=5c7e105a91c6430598797e9d9389f5b4)
* Mayor Beame departmental: Office_of_Mayor_Beame_Departmental_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104008?token=c07f17f26fbb4fdfbea03651e06f5c37)
* Kings County DA microfilm inventory: Kings_County_Disrict_Attorney_-_Murder_Inc._Case_Files__1929-1966.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104009?token=18e6b4510eef47b496ccddd393228fd4)
* Estate Inventories 91-045: Estate_Inventories_Accession_91-045.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104010?token=8d5e55fee2254dca9e93f94b99f983c5)
* Mayor Hylan s.f.: Mayor_Hylan_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104011?token=4463c04d20cb4e4889dc59b2d8d36755)
* Mayor O'Dwyer s.f.: Mayor_ODwyer_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104012?token=e72a1c4fd01c4707b4752e1d8eb94bc5)
* NYDA indictments inventory 1850-59: New_York_District_Attorney_-_Indictments__1850-1859.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104013?token=dc25020a1b564438b46b31904fb1f5ae)
* Mayor Gaynor departmental: Mayor_Gaynor_Departmental_Correspondence_Received.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104014?token=87f5b2f53051450c8a8c2c6cd6033cf4)
* NYDA dismissed indictments inventory: New_York_District_Attorney_-_Dismissed_Felony_Indictments_1845-1899.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104015?token=8ea93a78760044bca185cc44dc19cf09)
* Mayor Lindsay g.c.: Lindsay_General_Correspondence.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104016?token=8100ea23538e42949e6d6e04b2db709d)
* Mayor McClellan departmental sent: Mayor_McClellan_Departmental_Correspondence_Sent.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104017?token=ee7781c44fa34021a9eb702ea7bf06ef)
* Mayor Beame Federal and State: Office_of_Mayor_Beame_-_Correspondence_with_Federal_and_State_officials.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104018?token=2a72a807bb00413aba8b34dbeb1fac91)
* NYDA indictments inventory 1830-39: New_York_District_Attorney_Indictments__1830-1839.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104019?token=c5c3650cf67c42439de49c12a4fd36fe)
* Mayor Hylan departmental: Mayor_Hylan_Departmental_Correspondence_Received.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104020?token=0ac956d46cd84081926b366526cbdb9f)
* Mayor Mitchel s.f.: Mayor_Mitchel_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104021?token=75588763da8b4fd98e24913d93f5c7aa)
* Mayors 1877-1897: Microfilmed_Series_Inventories_-_Mayors_1877-1897.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104022?token=33a1229f70b34bdb97a33c788550b679)
* Mayor Impellitteri s.f.: Impellitteri_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104023?token=302b2b2c1ce54bb8bd97cc071425e38d)
* Mayor Impellitteri departmental: Impellitteri_Departmental_Correspondence.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104024?token=c42434860b0b413190459415e5cf65f8)
* Mayor Wagner s.f.: Mayor_Wagner_Subject_Files.xlsx (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/104025?token=3d6f064306b74e849f8022948cedfb2c) Please visit FOIL-2018-860-00039 to view additional information and take any necessary action. (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2018-860-00039) DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL. For information or questions about this request please use the Contact the Agency link on the request page in OpenRecords.
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Micofilmed_Series_Inventories_-_Mayors_prior_to_1878.xlsx
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Mayor_McClellan_Subject_Files.xlsx
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Mayor_Walker_Departmental_Correspondence_Received.xlsx
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Office_of_Mayor_Beame_Subject_Files.xlsx
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Lindsay_Departmental_Correspondence.xlsx
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Mayor_Gaynor_Subject_Files.xlsx
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Mayor_LaGuardia_Departmental_Files.xlsx
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Mayor_Van_Wyck_Departmental_Correspondence.xlsx
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Mayor_Laguardia_Correspondence_with_Federal_Officials.xlsx
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New_York_District_Attorney_-_Indictments__1840-1849.xlsx
There are too many files to display on this communication. See all files
From: Department of Records and Information Services
The Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) has closed your FOIL request FOIL-2018-860-00039 for the following reasons: (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2018-860-00039)
The requested inventories of Department of Records & Information Services (DORIS) – Municipal Archives microfilm holdings are provided. N.B. Most vital record microfilms were produced by non-DORIS entities, e.g. NYC Department of Health, Office of the City Clerk, Genealogical Society of Utah, and there are not extant item-level inventories of these series. Your request under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) has been reviewed and the documents you requested have been posted on the OpenRecords portal.
You may appeal the decision to deny access to material that was redacted in part or withheld in entirety by contacting the agency's FOIL Appeals Officer: foil@records.nyc.gov within 30 days. (mailto:foil@records.nyc.gov)
DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL. For information or questions about this request please use the Contact the Agency link on the request page in OpenRecords.
From: Reclaim The Records
Dear Mr. Cobb,
I believe that this information you provided in response to my FOIL request is incomplete.
In late 2014, you personally communicated with someone who originally contacted you via the Municipal Archives' official web-based Contact Form. In that communication, you personally confirmed that the NYC Municipal Archives holds microfilmed versions of various old town ledger books, including but not limited to the town of Gravesend, which is now a part of Brooklyn. Those town ledgers hold mentions of births, deaths, and marriages, and legal and land proceedings from the 17th to 18th centuries. The microfilms of those ledger books may include the original handwritten versions of the books, the official transcriptions and/or translations (from Dutch) that were made in the early twentieth century, or both.
I would be willing to file a formal FOIL request for that Contact Form communication, if that would help jog your memory? It was Correspondence #1-1-1035643476. I mean, I personally already have a copy of it, but maybe filing a FOIL for it would help you?
The Archives further made available to this patron copies of those microfilms of those Town Ledgers through an interlibrary loan in the spring of 2017. The Archives further agreed that this person could digitize those NYC Municipal Archives microfilms at his own expense, which he did. The Archives further knew that he was working on a project indexing the names in these newly-digitized microfilm records. The Archives further supplied him with a mimeographed inventory sheet for these town ledger microfilms, with ID numbers for each film and the title of the contents thereof. I have attached a copy of the Archives' own inventory sheet to this reply. I have been told that the ID numbers in pencil in the far-left column are the microfilm roll numbers, although of course I defer to the archivists' expertise in this matter.
Neither an inventory list of those town ledgers nor those microfilms of the various town ledgers appear in any of the spreadsheets you just supplied in reply to my FOIL request, as far as I can tell. If I am mistaken, please point them out to me?
Please supply the Archives' full inventory lists -- not just to the town ledger microfilms, but to any other microfilms or microfiche held by the NYC Municipal Archives, regardless of who produced the films originally. Because of the age of these particular microfilms, it is very likely that these town ledger films were indeed produced by DORIS and not "non-DORIS entities, e.g. NYC Department of Health, Office of the City Clerk, Genealogical Society of Utah" so there really should be a list of them.
Thank you, and I look forward to your prompt reply, as the law requires.
- Brooke Schreier Ganz
From:
kcobb@records.nyc.gov sent you some files
2 files, 29.2 MB in total
・ Will be deleted on 16 May, 2018
Message:
Microfilm inventories for Kings County Town Records collection and City Cemetery burial
records.
2 files
Department of Corrections - Hart Island - City Cemetery Burial Records, Accn....
Kings County Town Records - Accn. 88-122 - Microfilm Finding Guide.pdf
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From: Department of Records and Information Services
Dear Ms. Schreier Ganz:
Thank you for the message. I apologize for not including the Kings County Town Records Collection microfilm (accession 88-122) inventory in my response to #FOIL-2018-860-0039. The Kings County Town Records collection, including both the original records and a microfilm edition, had been accessioned from St. Francis College, Brooklyn, in 1988. The microfilm inventory exists only as a typed document created by the St. Francis College librarians with microfilm roll numbers hand-written next to the corresponding original volume number. I will send a Pdf version of the entire inventory to you via the WeTransfer service (the file size exceeds our email system limit), and I will add it to the OpenRecords portal. I am also sending the inventory of the microfilmed City Cemetery burial records (accessions 88-123, and 03-108) in Pdf format (although the inventory appears to have been created as a spreadsheet, I am not able to locate that file.) As I identify other microfilm inventories, I will forward copies to your attention.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Cobb
-
~WRD223
From: Reclaim The Records
Dear Mr. Cobb,
Far it be it from me, a simple stay-at-home mom and amateur genealogist living all the way across the country, to tell you what is and is not stored in the archive where you've served as the director since 1990, but are you perhaps unaware that the New York City Municipal Archives has multiple binders of inventories right behind their front desk, available to any patron who comes in and asks for them? In those binders, there are multiple lists of archival materials. And those lists indicate whether the material has or has not been microfilmed. And there are even some inventory lists that are comprised solely of microfilmed materials.
But most of those inventory lists do not appear in any of the materials you have provided in response to this FOIL request so far. Weird, right?
To aid in your legally-mandated records production, I've attached some photos of the binders and a few of their lists to illustrate their existence for you. A friend of Reclaim The Records took these photos at the Archives just a few hours ago, so I'm quite sure you and your staff are aware of their existence.
As you can see, many of these lists include "Old Town" records for places outside of Kings county -- even sometimes including materials for Nassau county, which isn't in New York City at all -- meaning these microfilms were not a part of the Kings County Town Records Collection acquired from St. Francis College that you mentioned in your previous FOIL response. In other words, this is a wholly different set of microfilm inventories, directly relating to a type of records that we explicitly asked about, whose materials were not provided in response to a FOIL request from the public, despite being readily available to you and your staff.
Please provide full copies of those inventory lists as soon as possible. Please do not upload them the NYC Open Records portal, as we didn't make our FOIL request through that system, but through the MuckRock website, so we can't see any records posted there. You can send documents using e-mail or WeTransfer or Dropbox or Box or Google Drive or whatever system you prefer -- but in any case please send the materials directly to info@reclaimtherecords.org.
Additionally, please send the the Kings County Town Records collection PDF and the inventory of the microfilmed City Cemetery burial records PDF, both of which you mentioned in your previous FOIL response. We haven't received either one of those files yet.
- Brooke
From: Reclaim The Records
Dear Mr. Cobb,
It continues to seem weird to me that someone who doesn't work at the New York City Municipal Archives has to be the one to inform the director about the contents of the Archives, but in 2015, you received a grant for $92,771 from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to process and catalog the New York City Almshouse ledger collection (1759 - 1936). And according to your own official National Archives grant report about the successful outcome of the project, which I have attached to this response to hopefully jog your memory, the Archives produced 47 rolls of microfilm covering 122 volumes of material as part of this project, as well as many digital images.
Why was this in-house very recently produced microfilm inventory not included in your legally-mandated response to our FOIL request? How did an almost hundred-thousand-dollar project from just three years ago slip your mind?
Please be sure to include this microfilm inventory as part of your legally-mandated FOIL response, when you send over the records to info@reclaimtherecords.org. And anything else that might have slipped your mind.
- Brooke
From: Reclaim The Records
Dear Mr. Cobb,
I just received an automated e-mail stating that a brand new FOIL request with a new tracking number, FOIL-2018-860-00088, has been submitted to the New York City Open Records FOIL portal, just for my latest replies to you. I assume that you or someone in your office set up that brand new FOIL request? Because I sure didn't, so it's not valid and should be deleted from the city system.
Let's be clear: we are still dealing with the same original FOIL request here, which was initiated on March 9, 2018. It was then assigned the number FOIL-2018-860-00039 in the New York City Open Records system, by you. This same FOIL request is still open and is NOT closed, since it was never completely fulfilled by your office, as evidenced by all my recent responses and our photographic evidence.
I would like to remind you that New York FOIL requests are legally supposed to be fulfilled within five business days if the records are reasonably described, or in twenty business days at most if they're complicated. We are well past that date. At this point, Reclaim The Records would be within our rights to consider this FOIL request to be partially constructively denied and go forward with a FOIL Appeal, for the denial of some of the records we requested without any justification.
We're willing to hold off on doing that for one more week. But we're definitely not willing to play games with you or anyone else from the city, where you open up brand new invalid FOIL requests that didn't come from us, to try to cover for your late and incomplete responses to the original FOIL request. You don't get to restart the clock. That's not how this works.
We look forward to receiving via e-mail ALL of the files we have requested by the end of the day on Friday, May 18th, which would be fifty business days since the original FOIL request was made on March 9th. That's more than reasonable.
If not, we will move directly to our Appeal and then to an Article 78 petition in the Supreme Court. I will remind you that under the new law passed by the New York State legislature and signed into effect by Governor Cuomo this past January, state agencies who fail to provide a good reason for denying records to the public under FOIL and/or who miss their timetables for a response will -- not "might", but will -- pay our attorneys fees.
I look forward to your full response, with all the requested records, by Friday, May 18th.
- Brooke
From: Department of Records and Information Services
kcobb@records.nyc.gov sent you some files
6 files, 74.3 MB in total
・ Will be deleted on 22 May, 2018
Message:
Microfilm inventories attached:
Almshouse
Corrections- City Cemetery
Old Town Records
Kings County Old Town
6 files
Kings County Town Records - Accn. 88-122 - Microfilm Finding Guide.pdf
Almshouse Inventory (original) annotated with microfilm roll numbers, page 10...
Almshouse Inventory (original) annoted with microfilm roll numbers, page 1-59...
Old Town Records.xlsx
Almshouse Inventory (original) annotated with microfilm roll numbers, page 60...
Department of Corrections - Hart Island - City Cemetery Burial Records, Accn....
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wetransfer-7c428d.zip
From: Department of Records and Information Services
Ms. Ganz:
FOIL 2018-860-00088 has been closed and the Almshouse, Dept. of Corrections (City Cemetery), Old Town Records and Kings County Town Records microfilm inventories have been uploaded to the portal. I have also forwarded them to requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com> via the WeTransfer service. If there is another email address you would prefer that I send them to, let me know. If I identify additional microfilm inventories in future, I will send them to you.
Kenneth Cobb
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~WRD082
From: Reclaim The Records
Dear Mr. Cobb,
Thank you for the files. I have downloaded them.
I noticed that many of these inventory spreadsheets and lists you sent over have a column called "MNNUM" or "MN Num" or something similar, with numeric values. Based on my reading of the recently-published reference book "New York City Municipal Archives: An Authorized Guide for Family Historians" by Aaron Goodwin (NYG&B, 2016), it appears that this "MN Num" designation is referring to the "Master Number" assigned to each of the Municipal Archives' microfilms, meaning any films created by the Archives where a master copy exists.
If this is the case, then surely somewhere there must be a comprehensive internal database, spreadsheet, or list for ALL of the "MN Num" or Master Numbers of all the Archives-created microfilms, although not all the microfilms stored at the Archives. (For example, according to the Goodwin book, the Kings county Old Town microfilms acquired by the Archives from St. Francis College don't have a MN Num assigned because those microfilms were not originally created by the Archives.)
Please send over a full copy of this database or list of all of the MN Numbers and the records to which they refer, as that would be an inventory of many (perhaps most) of the Archives' microfilms, which is clearly within the obvious scope of this FOIL request.
Thank you.
- Brooke
From: Reclaim The Records
An addendum to my previous reply: a MN Num may also refer to a Master Negative Number, not just a Master Number, meaning the microfilm negative.
- Brooke
From: Department of Records and Information Services
Dear Ms. Ganz:
Yes, “MN” is microfilm “master negative” number. I had not included the attached spreadsheet as it lists MN contents by series, in “blocks,” and not at the item-level. I believe I have responded with many, if not most, of the extant item-level inventories, but if you identify a particular series of interest, let me know and I will try to determine if there’s any additional information available. Just fyi, I will be out of the office next week.
Sincerely,
Ken Cobb
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05/03/2018
Dept._of_Records__Info._Services_-_Municipal_Archives_Divsion_Master_Microfilm_Cabinet_Inventor.xlsx
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