A State Supreme Court judge has temporarily blocked the public release of individual disciplinary records for Buffalo Police and Buffalo firefighters for allegations that are pending or unsubstantiated. Hon. Frank Sedita III issued the decision Friday after the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association and the Buffalo Professional Firefighters Association filed a claim Wednesday saying that the […]
Read More… from N.Y. Judge temporarily blocks public release of Buffalo Police disciplinary records
New York state lawmakers repealed a decades-old law Tuesday that has kept law enforcement officers’ disciplinary records secret, spurred by the national uproar over the death of George Floyd. The measure to make officers’ records and misconduct complaints public is among several police accountability bills racing through the state legislature. Lawmakers passed other bills that […]
Read More… from New York passes bill to unveil police discipline records
They just don’t seem to get it. Or maybe they do and just don’t care. We’re talking about executive sessions. But until somebody decides to challenge them legally, boards will continue to deceive the people they serve. This time, the flagrant offender is the Ilion Village Board. Prior to its legally announced March 11 regular […]
Read More… from Observer Dispatch OUR VIEW: Public officials must be held accountable
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is teetering on financial collapse and still struggling to overcome a meltdown in subway service and collapse in bus ridership. No one doubts that the MTA has serious problems and riders are suffering. But before the State Legislature approves tens of billions of new funding, the MTA needs to show […]
Gov. Andrew Cuomo promised to manage “the most transparent” administration New Yorkers have ever seen. The reality is that his administration continues to keep a tight lid on public records or takes months to respond to even the most basic requests for information. News 4 Investigates from May through August filed Freedom of Information law requests with every state […]
The UB Council violated New York State’s Open Meetings Law on Monday by barring students from its meeting, according to the state’s top open-government official. Roughly 50 graduate students and faculty members congregated outside Capen 505, hoping to attend the meeting. Chief of Staff Beth Del Genio told members of the Living Stipend Movement –– […]
New York State’s government is in bad shape, but there is so much secrecy it is hard to tell how bad. That was the message Wednesday night, as two public interest groups were honored for trying to open government and uncover what is there. It was the Buffalo Niagara Coalition for Open Government’s chance to […]
Read More… from Lawsuit over extreme secrecy in Niagara County government being considered
North Hempstead residents can now precisely track how their tax dollars are spent, with the town’s recent launch of a comprehensive website showing years of its expenditures.
From auto equipment purchases to contracts awarded to vendors, residents can access online checkbooks dating from 2014 up to January 2017.
Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said the website — northhempstead.com/opengov — is part of her administration’s ongoing effort to boost openness and transparency.
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Read More… from Long Island: N. Hempstead residents can view town expenditures on website
The executive director of the state Committee on Open Government really took to heart Sen. Brad Hoylman’s Friday request for an “expedited” advisory opinion on the question of whether or not the state Senate’s new rule barring the use of cellphones as audio, video or photographic recording devices within the chamber and its public galleries without the permission of the Senate secretary violates the state’s Open Meeting Law.
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Read More… from Transparency committee: N.Y. Senate cellphone ban violates Open Meetings Law
Pull back the curtain! So says a group of elected officials and activist groups that will file briefs Tuesday in support of a two-year legal battle to get the city to release the disciplinary records of the cop who fatally choked Eric Garner back in 2014, organizers said.
The effort is being mounted by Garner's mother Gwen Carr, members of the City Council, Public Advocate Letitia James and Communities United for Police Reform, a nonprofit dedicated to greater police accountability.
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