Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Bridges and Tunnels: Compliance with Freedom of Information Law Requirements

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bridges and Tunnels (B&T) operates seven bridges and two traffic tunnels in New York City. Article 6 of the New York State Public Officers Law provides for public access to government records. The statute, generally referred to as the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), applies to any State agency, public authority and local government entity, with the exception of the Judiciary and the State Legislature. Under FOIL, B&T is required to make all eligible records available for public inspection or copying within certain time frames. We evaluated B&T’s compliance with these requirements and identified the need for certain improvements. For example, we found that B&T was not always timely in its response to FOIL requests and needed to more thoroughly review records made available to the public to prevent the release of personal and confidential information. We recommended that certain actions be taken by B&T to improve its compliance with FOIL requirements.

For a complete copy of Report 2007-S-50 click here.