NYS Department of Transportation was one of the government agencies that passed NYPIRG's recent open government test. NYPIRG sent Freedom of Information letters to various agencies and tracked timeliness of responses. Under the state Freedom of Information Law, agencies are required to respond in five days.

We wish we could report the same satisfaction.

We often struggle to get even basic information – such as the status of projects – from the New York State Department of Transportation, particularly its Long Island (Region 10) office.

Region 10 routes every request for information through it freedom of information office and is known for sending a form letter in response to every request that says, "we are currently processing an unusually high volume of FOIL requests. … Therefore, it will take approximately six weeks to inform you of the availability of the information …"

The NYSDOT has also thwarted attempts by Newsday and the Campaign to get information on the most dangerous sections of road in the state.

NYSDOT recently appealed a July state appellate court opinion that held that Newsday is entitled to a copy of a list of the state’s most dangerous intersections and highway locations compiled by the NYSDOT in compliance with the federal highway Hazard Elimination Program. The NYSDOT argues that a provision of the federal law that prohibits disclosure of the data to parties who seek the information for litigation purposes applies to a request from a newspaper. In the earlier opinion, Albany County Supreme Court Justice George Ceresia held that the records in question are of "clearly significant interest to the public." The NY State Court of Appeals is expected to hear arguments on the case in the next few months.

NYSDOT has denied the Campaign’s request for the information because a final decision in the case has not been reached.

The "Access Denied: The State of NY Government’s Openness" report can be obtained from NYPIRG’s Albany office: 518-436-0876.

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