Article 6 of the New York State Public Officers Law, also known as the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), allows members of the public to obtain records of state and local government.
For more information, you can visit the New York Department of State Committee on Open Government webpage.
Requests for NYC Emergency Management records may be submitted by postal mail, email (FOILRequests@oem.nyc.gov), or through New York City's OpenRecords Portal.
Any requests made by mail should be sent to:
Records Access Officer
Robert DeVoogd, Agency Attorney
New York City Emergency Management
165 Cadman Plaza East
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-422-8433
Please include in your letter or email: your name, address, phone number, and email address, or any other relevant contact information so that we may properly respond to your request.
Once the request is received by the Records Access Officer an official acknowledgement will be sent within five (5) business days with an estimate of how long it will take to process your request for records. Note that FOIL requests for all other City agencies should be sent to their respective Records Access Officers.
The Records Access Officer will notify you as to the number of pages responsive to your request. If requested, you will be provided with copies of the requested records to you in electronic form by email for no charge. However, electronic documents that exceed our maximum email capacity will need to be copied onto a CD. If you would like hard copies of the records, there is a charge of 25¢ per page, which must be paid before the release of the requested records. A check for the applicable fee should be made payable to "NYC Emergency Management" and mailed to:
Records Access Officer
Robert DeVoogd, Agency Attorney
New York City Emergency Management
165 Cadman Plaza East
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-422-8433
State Law exempts certain records from disclosure. The Records Access Officer may deny your request, in whole, or in part, if it falls under these exemptions. If you disagree with the Records Access Officer's denial of your request, you may appeal by sending a letter to:
FOIL Appeals Officer
Sonja Orgias, Chief Counsel
New York City Emergency Management
165 Cadman Plaza East
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-422-8433