FOIL Request

FOIL Request

  1. FOIL REQUEST

    Village of Red Hook 
    7467 South Broadway
    Red Hook, NY 12571

  2. Re: Freedom of Information Law Request

  3. To: Records Access Officer

    Under the provisions of the New York Freedom if Information Law, Article 6 of the Public Officers Law, I hereby request records or portions thereof pertaining to (or containing the following):

  4. Please describe the public records you wish to receive. In order to expedite the search for the records, please be as specific and clear as possible.

  5. Department*
  6. If my request appears to be extensive or fails to reasonably describe the records, please contact me by:
    1. The Freedom of Information Law requires that an agency respond to a request within five business days of receiving a request. 

      If for any reason any portion of my request is denied, inform me of the reasons for the denial in writing; and provide the name and address for the person or body to whom an appeal should be directed.

    2. Electronic Signature Agreement

      By checking the "I agree" box below, you agree and acknowledge that 1) your application will not be signed in the sense of a traditional paper document, 2) by signing in this alternate manner, you authorize your electronic signature to be valid and binding upon you to the same force and effect as a handwritten signature, and 3) you may still be required to provide a traditional signature at a later date.

    3. Leave This Blank:

    4. This field is not part of the form submission.


    You may submit a written request one of four ways:

    By Mail:
    Records Access Officer
    Village of Red Hook
    7467 South Broadway, 
    Red Hook, NY 12571


    In Person: 
    Village of Red Hook
    7467 South Broadway
    Red Hook, NY 12571
    Between the hours of 11:00am – 4:00pm on business days
    By Email: 
    info@redhooknyvillage.org
    By Fax:
    (845) 758-5146


    FOIL Process

    Within five (5) business days of the receipt of a written request for a record reasonably described, we will send you a letter either: 1) making such record available; 2) denying such request in writing or; 3) furnishing a written acknowledgment of the receipt of such request.

    If you have not received a letter within five (5) business days we ask that you please contact the Village Clerk’s office at 845-758-1081 or info@redhooknyvillage.org

    An acknowledgment letter will provide you with an estimate of when the records you request will be available, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request. This date is determined by the number of documents you request, their format, their availability, the time it takes to redact any information that cannot be disclosed pursuant to FOIL, the time it takes to assemble the documents, and other factors.

    If the records you request require a fee to be paid, you will be notified prior to the records being released to you. Unless a different fee is otherwise prescribed by statute, Public Officer’s Law Section 87(1) authorizes an agency to charge a fee of .25 per copy for copies of records up to 9x14, or the actual cost of reproducing a record. In determining the actual cost of producing a record, an agency may include only:

    * an amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid agency employee who has the necessary skill required to prepare the requested record(s), if at least two hours of agency employee time is needed to prepare a copy of the record requested; and

    * The actual cost of the storage devices or media provided to the person making the request in complying with such request; and * the actual cost to the agency of engaging an outside professional service to prepare a copy of the record, but only when an agency’s information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy, if such service is used to prepare the copy.

    Once the requested records are prepared, you may receive the records via email, fax, paper. Prepared records are available for inspection by appointment, on business days between 11:00am and 4:00pm at the Village Hall, 7467 South Broadway, Red Hook, NY 12571. You may schedule an appointment by calling (845) 758-1081.

    RIGHT TO APPEAL

    Under provision of the Public Officers Law you may appeal a FOIL determination. If you desire to submit such an appeal, you must do so within thirty (30) days of the written response to your FOIL request. Please include a copy of the original request for records and a copy of the FOIL response letter you received along with your appeal letter to:

    Records Appeal Officer Mayor Karen Smythe
    Village of Red Hook
    7467 South Broadway
    Red Hook, NY 12571

    You will be informed in writing of the decision within ten (10) business days of our receipt of such an appeal.

    HELPFUL TIPS:

    Be as specific as possible in describing the requested records. Include relevant dates, names and descriptions.

    Specify whether you would like to inspect the records or have copies of the records sent to you.

    If records are available, specify how you want them sent, via U.S. mail, email or fax. We may choose to send the records by U.S. mail if you have requested a large volume of records, for security or other important reasons.

    Include your email, mailing address and fax number, as well as a telephone number where you can be reached.

    Please note that the agency is not required to create a new record in response to FOIL requests.