New York · FOIL

New York FOIL, from five-day acknowledgement to Article 78

AccessPoint manages Freedom of Information Law requests under the Public Officers Law — the 5-business-day acknowledgement, section 87(2) exemptions, and agency appeals — pre-configured for New York and running inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

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New York at a glance

Response deadline
5 business days to grant, deny, or acknowledge in writing (POL § 89(3)(a))
Production
Within a reasonable time, by an approximate date stated at acknowledgement
Copy fee
25 cents per page for copies up to 9 by 14 inches, or actual reproduction cost
Appeal
30 days to appeal to the agency head; decision in 10 business days; then Article 78
Oversight
Committee on Open Government (advisory opinions)
Languages
English

Built for New York

One platform for the whole access-and-privacy mandate, pre-configured for this regime and running in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

FOIL request lifecycle

Intake to production under the Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law art. 6) — the 5-business-day acknowledgement, a reasonable-time production date, the section 87(2) exemptions, and 25-cent-per-page copies — all on Microsoft 365.

5-business-day acknowledgement

Meet FOIL's five-business-day rule to grant, deny, or acknowledge in writing with a reasonable approximate date — tracked from intake and reminded automatically so nothing lapses into a constructive denial.

Exemptions and redaction

Apply the section 87(2) exemptions — unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, law enforcement, inter- and intra-agency deliberative material — line by line, with a colour-coded catalogue and audit-trailed redactions.

Appeals and Article 78

Track the 30-day administrative appeal to the agency head, the required 10-business-day decision, and judicial review by an Article 78 proceeding, with attorney-fee exposure flagged.

Committee on Open Government guidance

Work with the advisory opinions of the Committee on Open Government built into your exemption catalogue and timeliness rules, so decisions follow the state's established guidance.

In your own tenant

Every request and record stays inside your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant — no third-party cloud, no cross-border transfers, and no per-user fees.

The five-day rule

Five business days to acknowledge. AccessPoint never lets the clock slip.

New York's Freedom of Information Law requires an agency to grant access, deny it, or acknowledge the request in writing within five business days — and, when it acknowledges, to give a reasonable date by which it will respond. Miss the acknowledgement, or let that date drift, and the request can be treated as constructively denied, opening the door to an Article 78 proceeding and attorney's fees. AccessPoint starts the five-business-day clock at intake, reminds the records access officer, and records the acknowledgement and the promised date so nothing lapses into a denial.

5-day acknowledgement The statutory clock, tracked from the moment a request arrives.
Article 78 ready A record built for administrative appeal and judicial review.
COOG guidance Committee on Open Government advisory opinions close at hand.

Configured out of the box

Installing the us-ny-foil configuration pack seeds your tenant with everything this regime needs — a starting point you can adjust, not a lock-in.

Related guide: FOI Workflow Quick Check
  • The Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law art. 6) as the legal-authority and citation spine
  • The New York public-holiday calendar and the 5-business-day acknowledgement due-date rules
  • The section 87(2) exemption catalogue, colour-coded for redaction
  • Reasonable-time production dates and constructive-denial tracking
  • The 25-cent-per-page copy fee and actual-reproduction-cost rules
  • Administrative-appeal grounds and Article 78 dispositions
  • Committee on Open Government advisory-opinion references
  • FOIL correspondence templates with statutory wording

New York Questions

How fast must a New York agency respond under FOIL?
Within five business days of receiving a request, the agency must grant access, deny it in writing, or acknowledge the request in writing and give a reasonable approximate date for its response. AccessPoint starts the 5-business-day clock at intake, tracks the promised date, and flags a request before it drifts into a constructive denial.

How are appeals handled?
A requester has 30 days to appeal a denial in writing to the agency head or governing body, which must fully explain its decision or grant access within 10 business days. If the denial stands, review is by an Article 78 proceeding in State Supreme Court, where the court may award attorney's fees. AccessPoint runs the appeal workflow on those clocks.

Is the Committee on Open Government an enforcement body?
No — it is advisory. The Committee on Open Government issues advisory opinions and guidance on FOIL but does not order disclosure; enforcement runs through the administrative appeal and an Article 78 proceeding. AccessPoint builds the Committee's guidance into your exemption and timeliness rules.

Where does agency data reside?
Entirely within your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant. Requests, documents, and audit history never leave your control — no third-party cloud, no vendor access, and no cross-border data transfers.

Run New York FOIL in One Platform

Try AccessPoint free for 30 days, pre-configured for New York. No credit card required.

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