Funding request and woman owned SBIG grants submitted Feb 2022
Dear New Jersey Economic Development Authority,
This is a request for public records made under the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Thank you for your previous data response regarding SBIG grant applications claiming business operations within a New Jersey Opportunity Zone. Based on my prior correspondence, nearly 60% of applications making a claim for OZ restricted grant funding were not in a NJ designated opportunity zone per the publicly available map tool offered by the NJDCA.
I have analyzed the first 417 grant applications submitted to NJDCA for funding. Only 183 claiming OZ designation are actually within a New Jersey opportunity zone.
Based upon the foregoing, I request the following records for the 183 applications correctly applying for OZ restricted funding:
1. Amount of money requested in the original application.
2. Applicant uploaded certification as a majority woman owned business (or is not a woman owned business)
3. Applicant has state certification as a woman owned business enterprise (WBE) or not.
The 183 grant applications for which I seek these data are available at : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...
Should you need a hard copy versus a cloud link to the spreadsheet, please respond and request the same.
Under the common law right of access, the public has a right to know what public monies were requested and that woman owned businesses are given a fair shake especially given the reports of NJEDA's misdealings with George Norcross and Krishna Singh. The right to public access outweighs the need for secrecy.
Yours faithfully,
Edythe Salade
Dear New Jersey Economic Development Authority,
Per OPRAMachine, today was the deadline to produce records responsive. Without a response, the request has been marked as refused. I reserve the right to modify once the data requested is produced.
Yours faithfully,
Edythe Salade
Hello Edythe. This request was emailed on Sunday, 4/17. This means it was
received by the EDA's custodian of records on Monday 4/18. The seven
business days to respond begins on the next business day after it is
received by the custodian (4/19). That puts the response date at 4/27. I
don't know how OPRA Machine works, but what I described is how to
calculate the days. In any event, you have a couple/few OPRAs pending
with us and we are working hard to provide you with a complete and
accurate response; pulling people from different teams to get these done.
If you are amendable, please feel free to reach out to me to discuss these
requests. It is clearly evident this program and its proper
implementation are important issues for you and we wish to provide
assurance of same. If not, that’s OK, but understand we continue to work
on these and endeavor to provide you with a thorough and accurate
response.
Yours truly,
Marcus
Marcus J. Saldutti, Esq.
Senior Legal Affairs Officer
New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)
1 Gateway Center | Suite 1410 | Newark, New Jersey | 07102
Office: 973-855-3452
[mobile number]-414-1423
For information about NJEDA’s products and services, please visit us on
the web: www.njeda.com
Dear Marcus Saldutti,
The response is now overdue. Your agency previously provided the dollar amount requested for SBIG program applicants doing business outside of opportunity zones. I asked for the same for businesses claiming OZ advantage. It is simply adding a column to the spreadsheet already provided. It is unclear why such a small task takes so long.
Yours sincerely,
Edythe Salade
Hello Edythe. Please be advised that this request remains in process and
requires a three week extension; however, we are very hopeful to have it
completed sooner than that.
Regards,
Marcus
[1][IMG]
Marcus J. Saldutti, Esq.
Senior Legal Affairs Officer
New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)
1 Gateway Center | Suite 1410 | Newark, New Jersey | 07102
Office: 973-855-3452
[mobile number]-414-1423
For information about NJEDA’s products and services, please visit us on
the web: [2]www.njeda.com
[3][IMG][4][IMG][5][IMG][6][IMG][7][IMG]
Good afternoon,
This request remains in process, and at this time we will require a
two-week extension for completion.
Thank you,
Shamira A.
[1][IMG]
Shamira Alvarez, J.D. (she/her/hers)
Legal Affairs Officer
[mobile number]-439-8776
From: Marcus Saldutti <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2022 5:55 PM
To: Edythe Salade <[OPRA #31102 email]>
Cc: Shamira Alvarez <[email address]>
Subject: RE: OPRA request - Funding request and woman owned SBIG grants
submitted Feb 2022 OPRA #1134
Hello Edythe. Please be advised that this request remains in process and
requires a three week extension; however, we are very hopeful to have it
completed sooner than that.
Regards,
Marcus
[2][IMG]
Marcus J. Saldutti, Esq.
Senior Legal Affairs Officer
New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)
1 Gateway Center | Suite 1410 | Newark, New Jersey | 07102
Office: 973-855-3452
[mobile number]-414-1423
For information about NJEDA’s products and services, please visit us on
the web: [3]www.njeda.com
[4][IMG][5][IMG][6][IMG][7][IMG][8][IMG]
Dear Shamira Alvarez,
Requests for records and extensions of timeliness are not infinite. Indeed, the custodian has not met its burden to prove a food faith extension of time if an extension is repeatedly requested without a good reason. It appears that your firm started accepting applications s on 2/12. Other responses on here show your agency has reviewed only through 2/17 or five days worth of grant submissions. Grants are not being reviewed in a timely manner AND records requests are not being replied to in a timely manner, either. Can you please provide a good faith explanation so the record in the public eye is clear and compliant with case law?
Yours sincerely,
Edythe Salade
Hello Edythe. Attached please find a spreadsheet responsive to this
request. Column C=self-identified Women Business Entity (WBE) applicants
and column D=state certified WBE applicants. This request is completed
and closed.
Regards,
Marcus
[1][IMG]
Marcus J. Saldutti, Esq.
Senior Legal Affairs Officer
New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)
1 Gateway Center | Suite 1410 | Newark, New Jersey | 07102
Office: 973-855-3452
[mobile number]-414-1423
For information about NJEDA’s products and services, please visit us on
the web: [2]www.njeda.com
[3][IMG][4][IMG][5][IMG][6][IMG][7][IMG]
From: Shamira Alvarez <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 8, 2022 3:37 PM
To: Edythe Salade <[OPRA #31102 email]>
Cc: Marcus Saldutti <[email address]>
Subject: RE: OPRA request - Funding request and woman owned SBIG grants
submitted Feb 2022 OPRA #1134
Good afternoon,
This request remains in process, and at this time we will require a
two-week extension for completion.
Thank you,
Shamira A.
[8][IMG]
Shamira Alvarez, J.D. (she/her/hers)
Legal Affairs Officer
[mobile number]-439-8776
References
Visible links
1. http://www.njeda.com/?utm_source=NJEDA%2...
2. http://www.njeda.com/?utm_source=NJEDA%2...
3. https://www.facebook.com/NewJerseyEDA/
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/55953/a...
5. https://twitter.com/NewJerseyEDA
6. https://soundcloud.com/njeda
7. https://www.instagram.com/newjerseyeda/
8. http://www.njeda.com/?utm_source=NJEDA%2...
Dear Marcus Saldutti,
There are errors in the "state certified WBE" field. Organizations listed as no actually hold certification.
Yours sincerely,
Edythe Salade