Matter of NYP Holdings, Inc. v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.

2024 NY Slip Op 32540(U)
New York Supreme Court, New York County·Decided July 24, 2024·No. Index No. 158909/2023·Unpublished

Opinion

Matter of NYP Holdings, Inc. v New York City Dept.

of Social Servs.

2024 NY Slip Op 32540(U)

July 24, 2024

Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 158909/2023 Judge: John J. Kelley

Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication.

NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/24/2024

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY

PRESENT: HON. JOHN J. KELLEY PART 56M Justice

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 158909/2023 In the Matter of

MOTION DATE 07/12/2024 NYP HOLDINGS, INC., and NOLAN HICKS, MOTION SEQ. NO. 001 Petitioners,

-v-

NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES DECISION, ORDER, AND and NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HOMELESS JUDGMENT SERVICES,

Respondents.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 were read on this motion to/for ARTICLE 78 (BODY OR OFFICER) .

In this CPLR article 78 proceeding, the petitioners seek judicial review of the May 9, 2023 partial denial of their administrative appeal from a March 23, 2023 New York City Department of Social Services/New York City Department of Homeless Services (DSS/DHS) Records Access Officer’s (RAO) determination that had denied their request for agency records pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law § 84, et seq.; hereinafter FOIL). The DSS/DHS answers the petition, submits the administrative record, and opposes the relief sought by the petitioners. The petition is granted, and, on or before August 26, 2024, the DSS/DHS shall produce the documents requested by the petitioners, but the petitioners are preliminarily enjoined, until September 25, 2024, from publishing the addresses of the homeless shelters that were the subject of their FOIL request, to permit the DSS/DHS to appeal this decision, order, and judgment, and seek a either a continued injunction or stay pending appeal from the Appellate Division.

158909/2023 NYP HOLDINGS, INC. ET AL vs. NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL Page 1 of 11 SERVICES ET AL Motion No. 001

1 of 11

[* 1]

NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/24/2024

In its initial FOIL request, dated March 15, 2023, the petitioners---the corporate owner of the New York Post newspaper and an individual reporter for that newspaper---requested that the DSS/DHS produce “[a] spreadsheet or database of shelter locations, number of beds provided, operator and landlord.” In his denial, the RAO explained that,

“[a]ddresses of individuals applying for or receiving public assistance, including DHS shelter addresses, are confidential pursuant to NYS Social Services Law (SSL) §136 and are therefore withheld under NY Public Officers Law §87(2)(a).

“However, while this information cannot be provided under FOIL for the above reasons, in handling requests from representatives of bona fide news organizations the Agency will acknowledge that there is a separate entitlement to access information contained in the Agency’s books and records of disbursement, including addresses, so long as the relevant statutory requirements are met. Specifically, SSL 136(1) requires the news organization to ‘give assurances in writing that it will not publicly disclose, or participate or acquiesce in the public disclosure of, the names and addresses of applicants for and recipients of public assistance and care . . .’ It is for these reasons the Agency requires completion of the attached agreement prior to release of the requested information, which would otherwise be exempt pursuant to NY POL §87(2)(a).

“Once we receive the completed form, the Agency will work to compile responsive records and provide a response.”

Rather than executing and submitting that form to the DSS/DHS, the petitioners administratively appealed that determination to the DSS/DHS’s Records Access Appeal Officer (RAAO).

In a May 9, 2023 determination, the RAAO explained that Social Services Law § 136 prohibited

“the release of ‘the names or addresses of persons applying for or receiving public assistance.’ More specifically, the statute provides that ‘[t]he names or addresses of persons applying for or receiving public assistance and care shall not be included in any published report or printed in any newspaper . . .’ SSL §136(1) [emphasis added]. It is acknowledged that the underlying legislative intent of this section of the SSL is ‘to preserve the dignity and self-respect of the recipient of social assistance and to assure the integrity and efficiency of the administration of the related programs.’ Malowsky v. D’Elia, 160 A.D.2d 798, 800 (2d Dep’t 1990) (citing Early v. Cnty. of Nassau, 98 A.D.2d 798, 790 (2d Dep’t 1983). Courts and the Agency also recognize the law’s intent to ‘prevent a recipient’s exposure to exploitation or embarrassment’ (People v. Prim, 47 A.D.2d 409, 416). DHS agrees that the legislative intent behind SSL §136 is what drives this conversation. The dignity, self-respect, and additionally the safety, of our clients is of the utmost importance. The Agency’s plain language reading and application of the statute support[ ] these goals.”

158909/2023 NYP HOLDINGS, INC. ET AL vs. NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL Page 2 of 11 SERVICES ET AL Motion No. 001

2 of 11

[* 2]

NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/24/2024

The RAAO rejected the petitioners’ reliance upon the decision in Krauskopf v Giannelli (121 Misc 2d 186, 190 [Sup Ct, N.Y. County 1983]), for the proposition that “the demand for addresses requires minimal intrusion into the confidentiality of records and cannot serve, as such, to embarrass, demean or exploit either the assistance recipient or the program administration.” In this regard, the RAAO explained that Krauskopf involved the disclosure of the addresses of only three particular public assistance recipients in the context of a grand jury subpoena related to a homicide investigation. As the RAAO characterized it, apart from the fact that Social Services Law § 136(1), by its very terms, already contemplated grand jury disclosures, limited to the “names and addresses and the amount received by or expended for” public assistance, the Krauskopf court explicitly noted that the disclosures there in dispute were “not being made to the general public, but only to a small and select group, all of whose members are obligated by law to keep secret information they receive” (Krauskopf v Giannelli, 121 Misc 2d at 190).

In response to the petitioners’ arguments that “addresses do not implicitly identify inhabitants,” and that “[a]n individual receiving public benefits cannot be deduced from the existence of a shelter at a particular building,” the RAAO emphatically asserted that these contentions were “not necessarily true.” Specifically, she adverted that,

“[t]he fact that an individual resides at a DHS shelter location is in itself confirmation that they are receiving public assistance and care. These addresses, for all intents and purposes, are DHS clients’ ‘home’ addresses during the time in which they reside there. Disclosure of addresses enables third parties both to identify and locate individuals residing at the sites as recipients of public assistance, the result of which is the potential exploitation and embarrassment of Agency clients that SSL §136 aims to avoid. There is no requirement under the statute that addresses be ‘tethered’ to names of recipients before the statutory protections apply. In fact, as emphasized above, SSL §136 couches the language in terms of either/or: prohibiting the disclosure of names or addresses.”

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Matter of NYP Holdings, Inc. v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs., 2024 NY Slip Op 32540(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2024).

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