FDNY Suddenly Closes My FOIL Request for Ambulance Transfer Data
FDNY Suddenly Closes My FOIL Request for Ambulance Transfer Data
I've appealed the decision.
The 14-month saga of trying to get ambulance transfer data from the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) came to an abrupt close a few weeks ago when I was told the data I seek are already in the NYC Open Data Portal.
I appealed the decision today.
The text of my appeal (copied below) summarizes the sequence of events; readers can also review the first two posts on the drama here and here.
From: Jessica Hockett
Subject: FOIL-2023-057-03160 - Appeal
Date: May 16, 2024
To: FDNYFOIL.Appeals@fdny.nyc.govGood morning.
I am writing to appeal the sudden decision to close my FOIL request (FOIL-2023-057-03160).
On March 2, 2023, I asked FDNY for the daily number of ambulance pick-ups from city care homes/congregate settings, hotels, police stations, and jails & prisons to hospitals, between January 1, 2020 and May 31, 2020.
FDNY formally acknowledged the request six days later and said I could expect a response by July 18, 2023.
I received an update on July 18, 2023, extending the response due date to November 28, 2023.
November 28th came and went without a response or update.
When I asked for an update in December, I was told to expect a response “on or about Friday, January 5, 2024.”
On February 6, 2024, I spoke with an FDNY FOIL officer via phone. She checked on the status of my request. “We have a new director for our unit,” she said, “and I just let her know that your request is outstanding for a period of time and I gave her this information so that she can start having it processed.” The officer also mentioned being short-staffed.
On Feb 16, 2024, I received the attached letter from Alva Wright. (The letter is mis-dated as Feb 16, 2023)
On Feb 26, 2024, I sent the names and addresses of the nursing home/care facilities with addresses, as requested in order to process item 1) in my request and noted the date mistake on the Ms. Wright’s letter
On April 24, 2024, I received a response from FDNY saying my request is for data that is available through the City's OpenData site and my request is now closed.
On April 26, 2024, I replied saying my request was inappropriately closed and explained why.
Today, May 16, 2024, I am appealing the decision to close my request without fulfilling it.
I am not clear as to which item in my original request the April 24, 2024 response is referring, or how it relates to the response from Ms. Wright.
If the records I requested were already available via NYC Open Data, I would not have made the request. If I simply “missed” that the data I seek are in NYC Open data, then FDNY would have told me when I made the initial request, which was over a year ago.
Ms. Wright said in her February 16, 2024 letter:
To the extent that you seek data for nursing homes and hotels, we ask that you narrow the scope of your request by providing the FOIL Unit with specific addresses or locations. Please submit the requested information to foilrequests@fdny.nyc.gov by the date below and reference your FOIL number the subject line, or you will receive no records in response to items 1 and 2 of your request.”
I made a submission in accordance with Ms. Wright’s direction on February 26, 2024.
For items 3) and 4) in my original request, Ms. Wright wrote, "Regarding the third and fourth items of your request seeking data on ambulance transports from police stations and jails, MAP is working on a response to your request. Please be further advised, that additional time is needed to respond.”
I respectfully request a review of this sequence of events and for FDNY to reopen fulfill my request.
Regards,
Jessica Hockett
The reason I requested the data was to investigate the possibility that nursing home residents and other government-dependent patients or precipice populations had been a) systemically transferred to New York City hospitals in the months and weeks leading up to the pandemic declaration, b) suddenly transferred en masse after the “emergency” period began, or c) both.
The last time I appealed a decision by a New York City agency, I received a lengthy response with a terrible excuse for denying public access to public data.
UPDATE: New York City Public Hospital Agency Refuses to Release 2017-2019 Death Data
We still have no idea how many nursing home residents died in NYC hospitals during the spectacular and specious spring 2020 death spike.
Seems like this is confirmation you are on the right investigative path!
Thank you for your persistence!