Good Afternoon:

The Office of the Clerk of the City of Newark has assigned your request
tracking number PD-21-0170 CV-19 and forwarded it to the Police Division.
However, you have requested footage, which will have to be sent to a
specific address. Please respond with the physical address to which you
would like this office to send your response. Also, please respond with
the best phone number at which you can be reached.

Please be advised that on March 20, 2020, the State Legislature
enacted P.L. 2020, c.10, which amended the OPRA statute relaxing OPRA’s
statutory deadlines 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 December 21, 2020, Governor
Murphy signed Executive Order 210 extending the initial State of Emergency
to January 21, 2021.     

Since Governor Murphy’s initial Executive Order, this Office has made
“reasonable efforts” to respond to the OPRA requests we have received.
However, since 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.      

As the City received your OPRA request on February 8, 2020, March 8, 2021,
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.