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April 16, 2009
As expected, ESDC turns down FOIL appeal requesting cost of Atlantic Yards project
Atlantic Yards Report
As he expected, Norman Oder's appeal to the denial of his Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request was denied. But this one comes with a sequel:
Two weeks ago, I described how the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) had denied my Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request seeking the current cost of the Atlantic Yards project, declaring the figure exempt from disclosure because it is either a trade secret or its disclosure "would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise."
Following standard procedure, I filed an appeal with the agency's appeals officer, who, in a letter I received yesterday, denied my request.
...
The new twist, however, is that the ESDC is apparently prepared to announce new cost figures for the project.Perhaps the agency will explain why it can announce new cost figures shortly after denying my request. Is there no need for trade secrets?
NoLandGrab: All this fuss over a project that is receiving enormous public subsidies — you'd think that there was some transparency requirement when taxpayers' money is at stake, especially for a private project.
Posted by lumi at April 16, 2009 6:16 AM