Meeting between Charlie Kushner and Mayor Steven Fulop
| Tracking # |
R000722-031418 |
| Submitted | Feb. 1, 2018 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Taylor Amarel
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to Open Public Records Act ("OPRA"), I hereby request the following records:
To whom this may concern,
I would like to obtain all records, meeting minutes, notes, emails, or follow-up records concerning a meeting between Charlie Kushner and Mayor Steven Fulop (and potentially other parties such Christine Taylor or representatives from Kushner Cos, Fortress Investment Group, Hudson County New Jersey, and KABR Group). This meeting was reported on Bloomberg here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-24/kushner-cos-n-j-towers-get-new-life-after-meeting-with-mayor
By way of background, at this meeting, at least one of the topics on the agenda was the 1 Journal Square project.
Specifically, I would like to obtain records that shed light on:
1.) Who was present at the meeting?
2.) Email or phone records that occurred before the meeting to discuss the topic or arrange a time to meet.
3.) Notes of what was discussed in the meeting, whether in handwritten or digital format.
4.) Follow-up emails or correspondence between the parties present at the meeting as well as any subsequent messages/letters/correspondence to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
While I am certain members of the Mayor's office and staff know where these documents would exist, if you require guidance in searching for these documents, here are some suggested techniques based on my information of where the records would exist:
1.) Conduct a non-case-sensitive keyword search of Mayor Steven Fulop's emails for keywords such as "Kushner", "1 Journal Square", "KABR", "Christine Taylor", and from the time period of January 1, 2017 to Present Day and filter the emails to the ones relates to 1 Journal Square and the recent meetings.
2.) Conduct a non-case-sensitive keyword search of Mark Albiez's emails for keywords such as "Kushner", "1 Journal Square", "KABR", "Christine Taylor", and from the time period of January 1, 2017 to Present Day and filter the emails to the ones relates to 1 Journal Square and the recent meetings.
3.) Conduct a non-case-sensitive keyword search of Vivian Brady-Phillips' emails for keywords such as "Kushner", "1 Journal Square", "KABR", "Christine Taylor", and from the time period of January 1, 2017 to Present Day and filter the emails to the ones relates to 1 Journal Square and the recent meetings.
4.) Conduct a non-case-sensitive keyword search of Marcos Vigil's emails for keywords such as "Kushner", "1 Journal Square", "KABR", "Christine Taylor", and from the time period of January 1, 2017 to Present Day and filter the emails to the ones relates to 1 Journal Square and the recent meetings.
5.) Conduct a thorough search of physical and electronic records documenting the meeting minutes, preparation, and follow-up about the meeting with Charlie Kushner.
In general, although I am seeking records specifically regarding the meeting, I ask that you, if necessary, expand your search from January 1, 2017 to Present day to capture previous correspondence, preparation, or previous arrangements that were discussed during the referenced meeting. If there are exemptions to this request, please produce a Vaughn index detailing the exemptions and release as many documents as possible using partial redaction and allow me to modify the request if necessary, I am happy to make necessary modifications.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 7 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Taylor Amarel
From:
Dear Mr. Amarel,
This office received a copy of your Open Public Records Act ("OPRA") request on February 13, 2018. Please be informed that the City of Jersey City is no longer accepting OPRA requests by fax. The loss of pages, the legibility of faxes and other issues unique to fax technology has created problems with processing OPRA requests in the past.
The City currently uses an online OPRA submission system that is accessible at https://jerseycity.mycusthelp.com/WEBAPP/_rs
Please create an account on the City's online OPRA submission system and resubmit your request. The City has already begun processing your search. When you create an account on the City's OPRA system, communication can continue from there. In addition, any responsive documents that are located will be provided through the City's online OPRA system. Please note that the service provider that you used as a contact e-mail address is problematic due to the "+" sign in the e-mail address. Therefore, please use a different e-mail address when creating the account.
If you need further assistance, please contact the Office of the City Clerk at (201) 547-5150.
Very truly yours,
John McKinney
Assistant Corporation Counsel
City of Jersey City
Department of Law
280 Grove Street
Jersey City, New Jersey 07302
Telephone: 201-547-5179
Fax: 201-547-5230
From: Jersey City Mayor's Office
Dear Taylor Amarel,
Thank you for registering with the Jersey City OPRA Center. Below you will find your login and password information. Please log in to the
Open Public Records Center to update any contact or password information and to track the progress of your request. (https://jerseycity.mycusthelp.com/WEBAPP/_rs/supporthome.aspx) Login: requests@muckrock.com Password: Update Password (https://jerseycity.mycusthelp.com/WEBAPP/_rs/ForgotPassword.aspx) If you are a first time user and did not submit your request through the open public records portal but are receiving this e-mail, an account has been created for you where you can access, track and receive any documents in response to your request. Thank You,
Custodian of Records
Jersey City, NJ
From: Beryl Lipton
Hello Mr. McKinney,
An account has been created on OPRA Online using the email address requests@muckrock.com. Could you please confirm that future communications for this request will be handled using that email address and its associated portal account?
Thanks so much for your help.
Best wishes,
Beryl Lipton, MuckRock
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New Jersey Open Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 1, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Jersey City Mayor's Office
Dear Mr. Lipton,
I have pasted the text of your search into the system. The City kindly requests an additional 2 weeks to process your request. Thank you for your patience.
Very truly yours,
John McKinney
-
~WRD000
From: Taylor Amarel
Thank you very much for the update!
From: Jersey City Mayor's Office
--- Please respond above this line ---
RE: OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of March 14, 2018, Reference # R000722-031418 Dear Taylor Amarel,
The City received a public information request from you that was entered into the system on March 14, 2018. Your request mentioned:
Part 1 of your request is a request for information, not documents. "OPRAsimply operates to make identifiable government records ‘readily accessible forinspection, copying, or examination.’ Additionally, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1." MAGEntertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super.534, 546 (App. Div. 2005). Thus, requests for information are not properOPRA requests and part 1 of your request is denied. in regards to part 2 of your request, the only records that may be responsive are contained in appointment books. Entries in such appointment books are exempt from release under OPRA pursuant to Furthermore, in regards to part 3 of your request, upon consultation with Marcos Vigil, no minutes or notes were taken during the meeting. Therefore, no responsive records exist in relation to part 3 of your request. Gannett N.J.Partners, LP v. Cty. of Middlesex ,379 N.J. Super. 205, 217-18 (Super. Ct. App. Div. 2005). Finally, in rergards to part 4 of your request, the City conducted its search and no responsive records were located. The City used the following search query to locate responsive e-mails for the accounts of Mayor Fulop, Mark Albiez, Vivian Brady-Phillips and Marcos Vigil from the dates of January 1, 2017 to present: "(kushner OR kabr OR christine taylor) AND journal square" The search query above searched for any e-mails that contained the term "journal square" combined with the terms "kushner," "kabr" or "christine taylor." The search located 30 individual e-mails. However, none of the e-mails were about 1 Journal Square. Therefore, no responsive records were located.
This OPRA request is now deemed closed.
Sincerely, John McKinney Assistant Corporation Counsel
To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the Jersey City OPRA Center. (https://jerseycity.mycusthelp.com/WEBAPP/_rs/supporthome.aspx)
From: Taylor Amarel
I wish to appeal this. Multiple sources and media outlets have confirmed the existence of these documents. Please execute the search or provide me with a list of search actions that you have completed thus far. Thank you.
From: Taylor Amarel
To whom this may concern,
Could you please follow-up with a response on my request / appeal. I have not received a response in over a month.
Thank y ou,
Taylor Amarel
From: Jersey City Mayor's Office
Hello,
Unfortunately your email was not recognized and has not been routed accordingly. Please be advised that if you wish to submit a new request or check on the status of an already submitted request, you should visit the Public Records Center. Description: TO: "Jersey City OPRA Center"[jerseycity@mycusthelp.net]Jersey City Mayor's OfficeOPRA Office280 Grove StreetJersey City, NJ 07302May 18, 2018This is a follow up to a previous request:To whom this may concern,Could you please follow-up with a response on my request / appeal. I have not received a response in over a month.Thank y ou,Taylor AmarelFiled via MuckRock.comE-mail (Preferred): 48238-81387004@requests.muckrock.comUpload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/accounts/agency_login/mayors-office-10299/meeting-between-charlie-kushner-and-mayor-steven-fulop-48238/?email=jerseycity%40mycusthelp.net&uuid-login=5a56c83a-3c16-4642-b0d4-8f671e9ff6d2#agency-replyIs this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use the above link to let us know.For mailed responses, please address (see note):MuckRock NewsDEPT MR 48238411A Highland AveSomerville, MA 02144-2516PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.---On March 31, 2018:I wish to appeal this. Multiple sources and media outlets have confirmed the existence of these documents. Please execute the search or provide me with a list of search actions that you have completed thus far. Thank you.---On March 29, 2018:
This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY.
From: Taylor Amarel
Hello, could you please provide an update to this request. Thanks!
From: Taylor Amarel
As mentioned in your former emails, copied below, I would like to receive a copy of the 30 individual emails. Thank you.
"--- Please respond above this line ---
RE: OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of March 14, 2018, Reference # R000722-031418 Dear Taylor Amarel,
The City received a public information request from you that was entered into the system on March 14, 2018. Your request mentioned:
Part 1 of your request is a request for information, not documents. "OPRAsimply operates to make identifiable government records ‘readily accessible forinspection, copying, or examination.’ Additionally, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1." MAGEntertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super.534, 546 (App. Div. 2005). Thus, requests for information are not properOPRA requests and part 1 of your request is denied. in regards to part 2 of your request, the only records that may be responsive are contained in appointment books. Entries in such appointment books are exempt from release under OPRA pursuant to Furthermore, in regards to part 3 of your request, upon consultation with Marcos Vigil, no minutes or notes were taken during the meeting. Therefore, no responsive records exist in relation to part 3 of your request. Gannett N.J.Partners, LP v. Cty. of Middlesex ,379 N.J. Super. 205, 217-18 (Super. Ct. App. Div. 2005). Finally, in rergards to part 4 of your request, the City conducted its search and no responsive records were located. The City used the following search query to locate responsive e-mails for the accounts of Mayor Fulop, Mark Albiez, Vivian Brady-Phillips and Marcos Vigil from the dates of January 1, 2017 to present: "(kushner OR kabr OR christine taylor) AND journal square" The search query above searched for any e-mails that contained the term "journal square" combined with the terms "kushner," "kabr" or "christine taylor." The search located 30 individual e-mails. However, none of the e-mails were about 1 Journal Square. Therefore, no responsive records were located.
This OPRA request is now deemed closed.
Sincerely, John McKinney Assistant Corporation Counsel
To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the Jersey City OPRA Center. (https://jerseycity.mycusthelp.com/WEBAPP/_rs/supporthome.aspx)"
From: Jersey City Mayor's Office
Hello,
Unfortunately your email was not recognized and has not been routed accordingly. Please be advised that if you wish to submit a new request or check on the status of an already submitted request, you should visit the Public Records Center. Description: TO: [jerseycity@mycusthelp.net]Jersey City Mayor's OfficeOPRA Office280 Grove StreetJersey City, NJ 07302May 20, 2018This is a follow up to a previous request:As mentioned in your former emails, copied below, I would like to receive a copy of the 30 individual emails. Thank you."
This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY.
From: Jersey City Mayor's Office
Dear Mr. Amarel,
The City received a hand mailed request from you on May 30, 2018 in regards to request R000722-031418. There is no activity for this request since March 29, 2018 at which time a response was sent to you and the request was closed. On multiple occasions, the City has informed you that communications with the e-mail address provided with the account used for that request is problematic for one reason or another. At this time, the City kindly requests that you file a new request through the last account you created, which uses an address with tutanota.com as the domain, if you are seeking something different in relation to this request and to be as specific as possible.
Very truly yours,
John McKinney
Assistant Corporation Counsel
City of Jersey City
Department of Law
280 Grove Street
Jersey City, New Jersey 07302
Telephone: 201-547-5179
Fax: 201-547-5230
From: Taylor Amarel
Thank you, I have resubmitted the request. I am very interested in getting the 30 email records that were previously mentioned but not disclosed. Thank you.
From: Taylor Amarel
Thank you, is there anyway you can respond to MuckRock via mail. The muckrock platform is setup to streamline the publication and handling of requests and using a seperate email account may prove equally cumbersome.
From: Jersey City Mayor's Office
Dear Mr. Scott,
The City receives a voluminous amount of OPRA requests. In order to manage the requests, the City has provided an online system that is completely free of charge to be used by the public. Therefore, please conduct all correspondences regarding your requests through the City’s system. Additionally, I’ve tried to call you to discuss this request and others on the numbers provided. One phone number that you provided is out of service. The other is constantly busy. Please provide a working phone number or contact me at the phone number below at your convenience.
Very truly yours,
John McKinney
Assistant Corporation Counsel
City of Jersey City
Department of Law
280 Grove Street
Jersey City, New Jersey 07302
Telephone: 201-547-5179
Fax: 201-547-5230