Transparency Advocates Urge City Council to Follow Through on Open Data Compliance

October 27, 2026

Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa
Chair, Technology Committee

Re: Please Hold the Annual Oversight Hearing on the Open Data Law

Dear Technology Chair De La Rosa,

Our groups write to ask that the City Council Technology Committee hold its annual oversight hearing on the City’s landmark Open Data Law (Local Law 11 of 2012) and its subsequent amendments.

For over a decade, the Technology Committee held an annual oversight hearing on agency compliance with the Open Data Law. Unfortunately, the most recent Open Data hearing was held over two years ago, in February 2024. Now is the time to resume that streak. A few weeks ago, the administration published the statutorily required Open Data annual report. The 2025 annual report includes important compliance metrics on data automation, identification of datasets through the FOIL process, and the datasets removed from the Open Data portal. The report shows that several initiatives in the Open Data Strategic Plan are still in progress, including updating the dataset request process, improving data interoperability, and strengthening internal agency understanding of the Open Data portal.

New York City passed the first open data law in the world in 2012 and, because of active and informed oversight by the City Council, remains a global leader. There are now over 2,400 datasets in the portal — ranging from 311 service requests to citywide payroll data — from approximately 100 government agencies that garner about a million visitors per year.

We request that you continue the important tradition of Open Data oversight and hold a hearing on compliance with the Open Data Law in the coming months.

Regards,

Rachael Fauss
Senior Policy Advisor, Reinvent Albany

Noel Hidalgo
Executive Director, BetaNYC

Grace Rauh
Executive Director, Citizens Union

Adam Rose
Deputy Director of Advocacy, Freedom of the Press Foundation

Kai Rosenthal
Co-President, League of Women Voters of the City of New York

Michelle Allen
President, New York Coalition for Open Government

Megan Ahearn
Executive Director, NYPIRG


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