Surveillance footage of intersection of Broad Street and Market Street
Dear Newark City,
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: Surveillance footage of intersection of Broad Street and Market Street from 5:15 PM to 5:45 PM. I am investigating an accident involving a NJ Transit bus rear ending a Coach USA bus.
Yours faithfully,
Jeremy Auerbach
Dear Newark City,
Regarding my previous request, the date of my request regarding the surveillance is 10/08/20.
Yours faithfully,
Jeremy Auerbach
Good Morning:
On December 8, 2020, the Office of the Clerk of the City of Newark
received your OPRA request. This Office has assigned your request tracking
number PD-20-1157 CV-19 and forwarded it to the Police Division.
Please be advised that on March 20, 2020, Governor Murphy signed into
law P.L. 2020, c.10, which provides that OPRA’s statutory deadlines do not
apply for the duration of a Governor-declared state of emergency pursuant
to the Disaster Control Act (N.J.S.A. App.A.9-33 et seq.), a public health
emergency under the Emergency Health Powers Act (N.J.S.A. 26:13-1 et
seq.), or when a state of local disaster emergency is declared by a county
or by a municipality. On August 1, 2020, Governor Murphy signed Executive
Order 186 extending the initial State of Emergency to October 24, 2020.
Since Governor Murphy’s initial Executive Order, this Office has made
“reasonable efforts” to respond to the OPRA requests we have received.
However, on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, amid the ongoing concerns regarding
COVID-19 and growing numbers of residents who have tested positive for the
virus, Mayor Ras J. Baraka announced a strict Shelter in Place mandate for
the City of Newark. In order to protect not only the citizens of our city
but also our public employees, all municipal agencies have vastly reduced
operations and personnel.
In order to gather the documents responsive to your requests, the OPRA
unit sends your requests to the respective City Departments, which
actually created, received, or retained these documents. Since the State
of Emergency, crucial City Staff have retired, become sick, and work a
staggered schedule, which makes the time needed to gather responsive
documents far longer than usual.
Murphy Executive Order 200 extends the current State of Emergency to
December 22, 2020. As the City is operating with limited staff and members
of the City staff have contracted the virus, January 8, 2020, is the
current deadline by which the response to your request will be due.
The Office of the City Clerk respectfully requests your understanding and
forbearance as we navigate this uncharted territory.