Transparency Advocates Ask NYC Dept of Records to Publish FOIL Implementation Plan
September 15, 2026
Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz
Commissioner
Department of Records and Information Services
RE: Public Release of OpenRecords Law Implementation Report, and Keeping OpenRecords Open Source
Dear Commissioner Smith-Cruz,
We write to ask you for a status update regarding the implementation report required by Local Law 199 of 2025, which codifies and expands the OpenRecords portal. The implementation report was due in late June 2026, and we urge the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) to release it as soon as possible to ensure the law can be implemented on schedule by City agencies.
Additionally, we strongly urge DORIS to retain OpenRecords as an open source platform built and maintained by the City.
We understand that you were appointed Commissioner in April of 2026 and began your work in May – only two months before the implementation report was due. We also appreciated that you were willing to meet with many of our organizations early on in your tenure so we could learn about your experience and priorities.
OpenRecords Implementation Report
Our organizations are strong supporters of the law, which not only codifies the OpenRecords portal for Freedom of Information Law requests, but also requires all NYC agencies to use it. Local Law 199 also requires agencies to publish public records released in response to FOIL requests – this has the potential to transform how public records are made accessible to the public, provided that the law is successfully implemented. We have additionally supported funding for DORIS to implement the law.
We are pleased to see that DORIS has already implemented portions of the new law. For example, DORIS has published the newly required list of FOIL officers and appeals officers. Given the work already underway, it is important for the public to be able to understand what steps remain and what DORIS’s plans are to ensure successful implementation.
OpenRecords Should Stay Open Source
We also urge that DORIS retain OpenRecords as an open source platform built and maintained by the City, using in-house talent whenever possible. It is our understanding that DORIS was seeking additional funding in the City budget to hire a systems architect and UX designer under the citywide Microsoft contract to build out new functionality of the portal to meet the new requirements of the law. We hope this remains the case and that there are no plans to contract with a vendor to purchase third-party software.
Keeping OpenRecords open source and open licensed will ensure that New York City retains sovereignty over its Freedom of Information Law process and continues to save resources by not being locked into expensive third-party platforms it has limited discretion over.
Thank you for your consideration. We are available to discuss these matters further at your convenience.
Sincerely,
Rachael Fauss
Senior Policy Advisor, Reinvent Albany
Noel Hidalgo
Executive Director, BetaNYC
Ben Weinberg
Director of Public Policy, Citizens Union
Susan Lerner
Executive Director, Common Cause New York
Adam Rose
Deputy Director of Advocacy, Freedom of the Press Foundation
Jerome D. Greco
Digital Forensics Director, The Legal Aid Society
Jonathan Reiss, Associate Director
The Media and Democracy Project
Zachary Ahmad
Senior Policy Counsel, New York Civil Liberties Union
Michelle Allen-Gregory
President, New York Coalition for Open Government
Alec Ferretti
Reclaim the Records
Corrinne Worthington
Advocacy & Community Engagement Manager, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP)
Cc. Councilmember Gale Brewer
Click here to view the letter as a PDF.