Flemington Borough 38 Park Ave Foyer Video Camera Recording
Dear Flemington Borough,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
Flemington Borough Hall (38 Park Ave, Flemington, NJ) Foyer video camera recording in plain sight of the public ONLY for June 14th, 2022 from 7:00PM to 10:00PM.
Yours faithfully,
Dominick B. Aboosamara
Hello Mr. Aboosamara – Regarding your Open Public Records Act request
received July 8, 2022 seeking records of the foyer video camera recording
in plain sight of the public on June 14, 2022, 7-10 p.m.:
I refer to a decision by the NJ Supreme Court, Gilleran vs. Bloomfield,
227 NJ 159 (2016), in which the OPRA request was for a video recording
from a security camera surveilling the back of the township’s municipal
building.
The Court held that such videos are not subject to OPRA because they could
reveal the capabilities and vulnerabilities of the surveillance cameras,
and thereby compromise public safety. For this reason, your request under
the Open Public Records Act is being denied.
Regarding your request under the common law, a common law balancing test
must be performed. In order to grant your request under the common law,
you must demonstrate your need for the video, and that need must outweigh
the public safety concerns.
Please describe your reason for needing this video, and I will perform the
balancing test. Thank you -
Dear [email address],
On this date and time period requested, I believe there is an integrity issue with a member of The Flemington Borough Planning Board during the June 14th, 2022 Flemington Planning Board meeting. The member in question, was seen in person speaking with a witness who was testifying for an application while the member of the board was recused from the application.
If needed, I could provide shorten time frame to request. But this request has no bearing on security as this was a publicly held meeting and this foyer could be viewed by the public during this time making no concern to a parking space for five (5)days or 24 hours as in GILLERAN v. THE TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMFIELD.
Yours sincerely,
Dominick B. Aboosamara
Helo Mr. Aboosamara - After weighing the factors, I have determined that
your interest in the security camera footage does not outweight the
security concerns of the Borough. Releasing the security footage would
reveal the angle of the camera and any blindspots in the camera’s view.
Therefore, your request is denied under the common law.
- Sallie Graziano