New York City, NY "Smart City" Contract Documentation (NYC Department of Transportation)

Your request FOIL-2020-841-05439 has been successfully submitted to the Department of Transportation (DOT).
The details of your request are shown below.

Request Title: New York City, NY "Smart City" Contract Documentation (NYC Department of Transportation)

Request Description: DOT FOIL Request

Request Type: DOT FOIL Request

DOT FOIL Request
Description of Records Requested:

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:

This request for contract documents related to all smart city technology purchased or in operation by this agency for the period from 1/1/2015 - present.

These smart city technologies include any contract document that contains:
- The terms “smart city.”
- Internet of Things (IoT) technologies (such as connected sensors, lights, and meters that collect data).
- Mobility data collection (such as “intelligent transportation system" or rideshare or cell-phone location data agreements).
- Video technologies (such as “closed-circuit television,” traffic, security, or streetlight cameras).

Specifically, I am requesting contract documents to which this agency and any smart city technology vendor are parties. These materials include:
- Any lists of related contracts.
- Any contracts, including any pilot, proof-of-concept, and public-private partnership agreements.
- Any data purchase, licensing, or exchange agreements.
- Any privacy policies or terms of use/service.
- Any vendor distribution lists for related requests for proposals.

If another office would be a more appropriate destination for this request, I would be happy to forward this request according to your direction. If additional agencies or jurisdictions would also have responsive or associated materials, the provision of the names of those entities would also be appreciated.

These records will be used to inform research on “smart city system” best practices as part of Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs’ Technology and Public Purpose (TAPP) Project that culminates in May 2020. To accommodate this deadline and inclusion in analysis please expedite this request so that it is filled by February 2020. Because of our not-for-profit status and the fact that this request is about a matter in the public interest, I request a fee waiver. If you have any questions or would like to discuss narrowing the request, please contact me directly at rebeccawilliams@hks.harvard.edu or ‪(857) 400-0323.

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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Williams

Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/
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Requester's Contact Information



Name:
Rebecca Williams

Title:
Not provided

Organization:
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Email:
requests@muckrock.com (mailto:requests@muckrock.com)

Phone Number:
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Fax Number:
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Street Address (line 1):
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Street Address (line 2):
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City:
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State:
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You can view the request and take any necessary action at the following webpage: https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-841-05439. (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-841-05439)

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has acknowledged your FOIL request FOIL-2020-841-05439. (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-841-05439) You can expect a response on or about Friday, June 25, 2021.
Additional Information: Due to the volume of FOIL requests which DOT receives per year and that we generally process such requests in the order in which they are received, we expect to provide you with a response on or about the date indicated above. Please note that submitting your FOIL request electronically to DOT via NYC's OpenRecords Portal at www.nyc.gov/openrecords is our preferred method of receiving and processing FOIL requests , especially due to the state of emergency related to Coronavirus (COVID-19). When you submit your FOIL request electronically at www.nyc.gov/openrecords , the request is automatically in our queue and you will immediately receive via e-mail the FOIL number assigned to your request.

Please visit FOIL-2020-841-05439 to view additional information and take any necessary action. (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-841-05439)

Attention Department of Transportation (DOT) Users,
The following note was added to FOIL-2020-841-05439 by the requester: (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-841-05439)

To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Dec. 17, 2020. You previously indicated that it would be completed on June 25, 2021. I wanted to let you know that I am still interested in the following documents, and to see if that date was still accurate. You had assigned it reference number #2020-841-05439.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/

We are working on your request.

Sincerely,
Sylvia Chao
New York City Department of Transportation - FOIL Unit
(212) 839-9850

Hello,

We are writing with respect to your Freedom of Information Law ("FOIL") request for "contract documents related to all smart city technology purchased or in operation by this Agency for the period of 1-1-2015 to present," including documents that contain terms such as "smart city."

FOIL requires requestors to "reasonably describe" the records sought. Whether or not a request meets this standard may be dependent upon the nature of an agency's filing, indexing, or records retrieval mechanisms. We cannot search for potentially responsive records with the details you provided, and need greater specificity and detail concerning the records sought.

Specifically, in order to search for documents related to a contract, a contract registration number or agency pin number is required. If the registration number or agency pin number is not known, please provide as much specificity as you can and we will attempt to locate responsive documents.

If you respond to this e-mail your request will be processed to the best of our ability. Failure to respond within 15 business days will result in this FOIL being deemed abandoned and administratively closed. For any further correspondence, please reference the FOIL request numbers noted above.

Thank you,
Michelle

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This message and any attachments are solely for the individual(s) named above and others who have been specifically authorized to receive such and may contain information which is confidential, privileged or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, use or distribution of the information included in this message and any attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us by reply e-mail and immediately and permanently delete this message and any attachments.
Thank you.

NYC – Department of Transportation
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The Department of Transportation (DOT) has responded to your FOIL request FOIL-2020-841-05439 with the following file(s). (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-841-05439) NOTE: You must be logged in to your OpenRecords account to access the file(s). If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to do so when the link is selected. The file(s) listed below will not be publicly available on the OpenRecords portal.


* Records Sent 2020-841-05439: Records_Sent_2020-841-05439.pdf (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/1834522)
Please visit FOIL-2020-841-05439 to view additional information and take any necessary action. (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-841-05439)

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has closed your FOIL request FOIL-2020-841-05439 for the following reasons: (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-841-05439) Your request under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) is denied in part and granted in part for the reasons stated below.
Specifically, portions of your request are denied because they are not reasonably described.  As we stated in our July 14th email, your FOIL request for “contract documents related to all smart city technology purchased or in operation by this Agency for the period of 1-1-2015 to present,” including documents that contain terms such as “smart  city,” did not "reasonably describe" the records sought and that we needed greater specificity and detail concerning such records, including contract registration numbers if possible.

In your July 16 response you noted that you are seeking contracts which provide "smart city" technology such as "cameras", "location data", "mobility data", or "sensors". This would include any contracts for CCTV systems or Transportation Intelligence Systems or Automated License Plate Readers or data sharing agreements with Citibike, Uber, etc.”  In addition, you stated that you are “attempting to be vendor agnostic, so I do not want to mention companies, but can provide a long list if helpful.”

We are providing the contracts which were reasonably described.  Enclosed are two contracts; our Bikeshare contract and our ATS contract.
You may appeal the decision to deny access to material that was redacted in part or withheld in entirety by contacting the agency's FOIL Appeals Officer: FOILAPPEAL@dot.nyc.gov within 30 days. (mailto:FOILAPPEAL@dot.nyc.gov?subject=FOIL-2020-841-05439%20-%20Appeal)