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Dear Philip Duca ,

Thank you for registering with the Jersey City OPRA Center. Below you will
find your login and password information. Please log in to the [2]Open
Public Records Center to update any contact or password information and to
track the progress of your requests. 

Login: [OPRA #77214 email]
 
Password:  [3]Update Password
 
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
 
 
 
  [4]GovQA logo

References

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--- Please respond above this line ---

  [1]GovQA logo
 
 
RE: OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of June 03, 2025, Reference #
F002451-060325

Dear Philip Duca:

The City received a public information request from you on June 03, 2025.
Your request mentioned:

"OPRA request - Name of Contractor who installed cobblestone sidewalks
at 2859 Kennedy Blvd. Jersey City

Dear Jersey City,

Please accept this electronic request for public records made under
OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out
an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my
request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a
requestor including all of the information required on the adopted
form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government
record request.

I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of
New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial
purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.

Records requested:
The date and name of the contractor who was hired by Jersey City to
install cobblestone sidewalks at 2859 Kennedy Blvd and the surrounding
businesses in the area.

We are also requesting a copy of the complaints made by multiple
persons and businesses regarding the cobblestone sidewalks in the
complete area of where the cobblestone sidewalks were installed.

Thank you for your assistance!

My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by
E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request.
If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to
that person and provide their email address to me for future
reference.

Yours faithfully,
Philip Duca"

Your request is denied as a request for information, not a record.  The
New Jersey Superior Court has held that "[w]hile OPRA provides an
alternative means of access to government documents not otherwise exempted
from its reach, it is not intended as a research tool litigants may use to
force government officials to identify and siphon useful information.
Rather, OPRA simply operates to make identifiable government records
‘readily accessible for inspection, copying, or examination.’ N.J.S.A.
47:1A-1." MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage
Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 546 (App. Div. 2005). The Court further held
that "[u]nder OPRA, agencies are required to disclose only "identifiable"
government records not otherwise exempt ... In short, OPRA does not
countenance open-ended searches of an agency's files." Id. at 549.  

Furthermore, in Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37
(App. Div. 2005), the Superior Court references MAG in that the Court held
that a requestor must specifically describe the document sought because
OPRA operates to make identifiable government records "accessible." "As
such, a proper request under OPRA must identify with reasonable clarity
those documents that are desired, and a party cannot satisfy this
requirement by simply requesting all of an agency's documents."

Additionally, in New Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on
Affordable Housing,  390  N.J.Super.  166,  180  (App.  Div.  2007)  the 
court  cited  MAG  by  stating  that “...when a  request  is ‘complex’
because it fails  to specifically identify the documents sought, then that
request is not ‘encompassed’ by OPRA...”

The OPRA Custodian and City employees are only required to search their
files to find the identifiable government records listed in an OPRA
request. Your request fails  to  seek  specific identifiable  government 
records and is therefore overly broad and invalid under OPRA. Thus, your
request is denied.

Sincerely,

Hjordys Espinal

Office of City Clerk

 
 
 
 
  To monitor the progress or update this request please log into [3]GovQA
the [2]Jersey City OPRA Center. logo

References

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