Governor Cuomo announces new administrative appointments

Governor Cuomo announces new administrative appointments

Source: Office of the Governor

On October 26, 2015 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the following appointments and recommendations for appointment to the entities indicated.

Benjamin W. Lawsky has been recommended to the City of New Yorkfor appointment as Director of the Trust for Governor’s Island. Mr. Lawsky is currently the Chief Executive Officer of The Lawsky Group, a firm that specializes in helping companies, boards, and individuals manage their most complex, emergent and dynamic challenges. From 2011-2015, Mr. Lawsky was New York State’s Superintendent of Financial Services. Prior to serving as Superintendent of Financial Services, Mr. Lawsky was Governor Cuomo’s Chief of Staff, and before that a senior aide in the New York State Attorney General’s Office. Previously, Mr. Lawsky spent more than five years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. He began his career as Chief Counsel to Senator Charles Schumer on the Senate Judiciary Committee and as a Trial Attorney in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. Mr. Lawsky is a graduate of Columbia Collegeand Columbia Law School.

Josh Vlasto has been appointed as the Governor’s designee to the Cornell University Board of Trustees. Mr. Vlasto is currently a vice president at MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated. Mr. Vlasto previously served as Chief of Staff to Governor Cuomo and prior to that Deputy Communications Director. From 2004 to 2010, Mr. Vlasto worked for U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, first as Legislative Aide for transportation and homeland security and then Press Secretary 2007 to 2010. Mr. Vlasto graduated from the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations in 2004.

Matthew Wing has been recommended to Empire State Development Corporation for appointment as Director of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation. Mr. Wing is currently the Northeast Communications Lead for Uber where he runs communications for its New Jersey, New York and Connecticut Markets. Prior to joining Uber, Wing served as Governor Cuomo's Press Secretary in his first term and as communications director for his re-election campaign in 2014. Prior to that he served as Communications Director and Deputy Advocate for Communications to then Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. He also briefly worked in the City Council, for the national labor federation Change to Win in support of Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, in the New York Attorney General's Office under then Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and was a Roth Fellow in the New York State Senate. He has a B.A. from Bard College.

Mark Colón has been appointed President and Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Housing Preservation at New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), after having served as HCR's Deputy Counsel since 2008. Previously, Mr. Colon practiced law as an Associate at Dechert LLP and at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Mr. Colon has also clerked for the Honorable Julio M. Fuentes, Third Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals. He holds a B.A. from Hunter Collegeand a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was the Managing Editor of the Yale Law and Policy Review.

Nora Yates has been appointed Assistant Deputy Secretary for Human Services. Previously, Ms. Yates served as the Director of the Community, Opportunity & Reinvestment (“CORe”) initiative, which was launched by Governor Cuomo in his 2013 State of the State agenda to enhance the well-being of communities and ensure that all New Yorkers have the opportunity to thrive in a safe and stable community, from a supported childhood to a productive adulthood. Ms. Yates joined the administration as an Empire State Fellow in the Executive Chamber and before the Fellowship, she served as Executive Director of the Pride Centerof the Capital Region and Field Director for the Empire State Pride Agenda, in Albany. Ms. Yates earned an M.S. in Public Administration from Sage Graduate School, and an M.A. and B.A. from the University at Albany.

Benjamin Voce-Gardner has been appointed Assistant Secretary for Public Safety for the Executive Chamber. Previously, Mr. Voce-Gardner served as a Litigation Associate at Zuckerman Spaeder LLP and as an Appellate Prosecutor in the United States Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps. While in the Navy, he also held positions as Law Clerk for the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, and as a Trial Defense Attorney in San Diego. In 2008 he deployed to Baghdad, Iraqin support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Mr. Voce-Gardner holds a J.D. from Boston College Law Schooland a B.A. from Connecticut College.

Colin Brennan has been appointed Press Officer for the Executive Chamber. Mr. Brennan previously worked as a Public Information Officer at the New York State Department of Health and Communications Manager at the New York State Thruway Authority. Mr. Brennan has a B.A. from the University at Albany.

Camonghne Felix has been appointed Speechwriter for the Executive Chamber. Ms. Felix has written for Teen Vogue since March 2015 and has been published by Huffington Post, Poetry Magazine and other publications. She's served as a mentor and facilitator for Urban World NYC since November 2014. Her previous experience includes work as a curriculum specialist with the Harlem Children’s Zone, work as a Campaign Lead at DoSomething.org, and as a research associate and speechwriter for the campaign of Assemblyman Michael Blake. Ms. Felix is pursuing an M.A. in Arts Politics from New York University.

Standards used by courts in evaluating the denial of a Freedom of Information request for public records

Standards used by courts in evaluating the denial of a Freedom of Information request for public records

Hearst Corp. v New York State Police, 2015 NY Slip Op 07729, Appellate Division, Third Department

The Hearst Corporation, publisher the Albany Times Union and one of its reporters,  Brendon Lyons, [Hearst] submitted a request to the NYS Division of State Police [DSP] pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law [FOIL] for the disclosure of all records relating to an alleged hit-and-run incident committed by an off-duty State Trooper.

  

DSP denied the request and after Hearst had exhausted its administrative remedies it filed a CPLR Article 78 proceeding seeking a judgment directing DSP to turn over the requested records, as well as costs and counsel fees.

Following the resolution of some procedural issues Supreme Court held a hearing at which DSP’s FOIL officer, by affidavit, set out the categories of records pertaining to the alleged incident, all of which, according to him, were collected or produced in an internal investigation by DSP pursuant to 9 NYCRR 479, Disciplinary Action.

Supreme Court did not review these records in camera* but found that all of the identified records were exempt from disclosure pursuant to Civil Rights Law §50-a (1) and dismissed the petition on that basis. Hearst appealed the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The Appellate Division set out the following standards regarding a public agency’s response to a FOIL request:

1. "[P]ursuant to FOIL's general mission, which is to promote open government and public accountability, a government agency must make its records available to the public unless an exemption expressly provides otherwise."**

2. "[E]xemptions are to be narrowly interpreted so that the public is granted maximum access to the records of government" and, thus, the party opposing disclosure bears the burden of establishing that the requested information "fall[s] squarely within a statutory exemption."

Noting that Civil Rights Law §50-a (1) exempts from disclosure the "personnel records" of police officers that are "used to evaluate performance toward continued employment or promotion," the Appellate Division rejected Hearst’s contention that information created or collected pursuant to a misconduct investigation is not protected by Civil Rights Law §50-a(1) unless agency can establish that it was thereafter actually relied on in a decision-making process related to the relevant officer's continued employment or promotion and “[p]roof that information was generated for the purpose of assessing an employee's alleged misconduct brings that information within the protection of Civil Rights Law §50-a(1).”

However, the Appellate Division continued, because uncontested evidence established that DSP’s investigation of the Trooper continued after he had resigned as an employee of DSP, the court said it agreed with Hearst that police departments who investigate persons who are no longer their employees are not conducting investigations of "personnel" within the meaning of Civil Rights Law §50-a(1).

The plain meaning of the word personnel identifies individuals with some current employment relationship with an organization, as confirmed by Civil Rights Law §50-a(1) as individuals who are not current employees cannot be considered for either "continued employment or promotion." The Appellate Division found that “Supreme Court erred in finding that [DSP met its burden of establishing that the materials resulting from its investigation after [the Trooper] had resigned were for the purpose of assessing his continued employment or promotion and that, as a result, Civil Rights Law §50-a(1) provided confidentiality to such materials.”

However, said the court, it was unable to address DSP’s alternative arguments for affirmance of the Supreme Court’s granting its motion to dismiss based on “additional exceptions to FOIL respectively apply to some or all of the requested information” as those materials are not within the record for the Appellate Division’s in camera review.

Accordingly, the Appellate Division remitted the matter to Supreme Court for its consideration of such arguments after an in camera review of the materials identified by DSP related to Hearst’sFOIL request.

* The term “in camera” refers to a closed and private session of a court or some other tribunal. As used here, it refers to the review of the documents in question by the court in his or her chambers, the public being excluded from that proceeding.

** An individual is not required to submit a FOIL request as a condition precedent to obtaining public records where access is not barred by statute. A FOIL request is required only in the event the custodian of the public record[s] sought declines to “voluntarily” provide the information or record requested. In such cases the individual or organization is required to file a FOIL request to obtain the information. It should also be noted that there is no bar to providing information pursuant to a FOIL request, or otherwise, that falls within one or more of the exceptions that the custodian could rely upon in denying a FOIL request, in whole or in part, for the information or records demanded. Examples of New York statutes barring the release of a public record: Education Law, §1127 - Confidentiality of records and §33.13, Mental Hygiene Law - Clinical records; confidentiality of.

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2015/2015_07729.htm

Selected Reports issued by the Office of the State Comptroller during the week ending October 24, 2015

Selected Reports issued by the Office of the State Comptroller during the week ending October 24, 2015

Click on text highlighted in color to access the full report

Municipal Audits released:
 

Forestburgh Fire District – Financial activities

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/firedists/2015/forestburgh.pdf?utm_source=weeklynews20151025&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=102115release

City of Glen Cove – Budget review

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/cities/2015/glencove_br.pdf?utm_source=weeklynews20151025&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=102115release

Spencer Volunteer Fire Company – Apparent misappropriation of funds

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/firedists/2015/spencervolunteer.pdf?utm_source=weeklynews20151025&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=102115release

Watervliet Housing Authority – Time and leave keeping records

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/publicauth/2015/watervliethousing.pdf?utm_source=weeklynews20151025&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=102115release

School Audits released:

Capital Region BOCES– Claims auditing

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/schools/2015/capitalregionboces.pdf?utm_source=weeklynews20151025&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=102115arelease

Skaneateles Central School District – Records and reports

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/schools/2015/skaneateles.pdf?utm_source=weeklynews20151025&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=102115arelease

Tuckahoe Union Free School District– Financial condition and information technology 

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/schools/2015/tuckahoe.pdf?utm_source=weeklynews20151025&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=102115arelease

Non-profit executive involved in six-year theft scheme convicted

Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and New York City Department of Investigation (NYC DOI) Commissioner Mark Peters announced the conviction of a nonprofit executive accused of pocketing taxpayer dollars intended for public services and capital improvements in New York City. A multi-agency joint investigation, including NYC DOI and two federal agencies, exposed the theft of approximately $300,000 in public funds provided by New York state, the New York City Council, and federal earmark grants. A jury convicted Dorothy Ogundu on 29 counts, including Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, and she faces up to 15 years in prison.
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/oct15/102315a.htm?utm_source=weeklynews20151025&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=102315arelease