“State Comptroller Investigates New York’s
640 Public Authorities” -
News Brief, March 25, 2005
Comptroller Alan Hevesi likened public authorities to a “secret
government,” as he tried to ferret out the state’s
full number of quasi-government agencies, after public outcry
about corruption in the Thruway Authority’s Canal
Corporation and the Hudson River Black River Regulating District.
“Ellenville Thumbs Its Nose at Freedom of Information
Law; Activist Landlord Dies”
- Reprinted from N. Y. Property Rights Clearinghouse,
Vol. 8, No. 4 (PRFA, Fall 2004)
“Assemblyman Prentiss Introduces Bill to Protect
Property Owners from Stealth Rules” - PRFA, Summer 2004
A bill called “The Homeowner’s Detrimental
Reliance Act” (A. 10445) introduced into the New
York State Legislature would protect building permit applicants
from being hit with citations from state and federal agencies
that they never heard about after they complied with a local
building permit.
See Also
Additional Resources
“The
Freedom of Information Request”
(With Sample Letter) - By Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA Background
Brief, December 2004)
Knowledge is the first key to success in defending private
property rights. Although based on New York and federal freedom
of information law, this article has important information applicable
anywhere in the United States.
“A Property Rights Primer — How to Educate
Yourself”— By Susan Allen,
Keene Valley, N.Y. (PRFA, December 10, 2002)
Don’t rely on others. If you have been hit with
a property rights issue, “you need to become very
knowledgeable in a very great hurry.” This primer
by an expert tells you how to gather information about government
programs and land ownership without any prior background.
Websites
New York State Committee on Open Government
The Committee on Open Government is responsible
for overseeing and advising with regard to the Freedom of Information,
Open Meetings and Personal Privacy Protection Laws.
address
|
|
In-Depth Information
|
|
|
- “Committee
on Open Government Assists LaGrasse FOIL Request” -
By Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA, Dec. 29, 2003)
Records of citations of rental properties were sought after
small landlords in Ellenville complained to PRFA about numerous
petty citations. The Village of Ellenville imposed a $300 “administrative
fee” in addition to the statutory 25 cents per copy
charge.
|
- “Landowner
Access to Great Sacandaga Lake is Squeezed”
- By Carol W. LaGrasse (Reprinted from NY Property Rights
Clearinghouse, Property Rights Foundation of America, Fall
2003)
Conflicts raged over the Hudson River - Black River Regulating
District. The District tried to raise access permit fees over
300%. Access permit holder John Barber’s Hunt Lake
Holding Company sued to keep his lake access location, which
the District changed without notice.
|
 “The
Proposed Rondout Creek Canalway Trail-Defending Property Owners”
- By Joseph Havranek, Rondout Landowners Alliance, Seventh Annual
New York Conference on Private Property Rights (PRFA, October
18, 2003)
A classic of successful activism. FOIL Requests revealed that
the true intent of the local project in Rosendale and Marbletown
was a 108-mile trail linking the Hudson and Delaware Rivers.
The Rondout Landowners Alliance got the information to the people
and went on the offensive.
|
 “The
Canal Trailway - A Threat to Private Property Owners”
- By Carol W. LaGrasse, Speech hosted by the Rondout
Landowners Alliance, Rosendale, N. Y., September 18, 2003
In addition to danger of eminent domain and liability concerns,
canal trails such as the Delaware and Hudson demonstrate the
power of the National Park Service, other federal and state government
agencies, and wealthy non-profit organizations to institute greenways
and landscape preservation on a national scale. Rural communities
are threatened.
|
- “Overlapping
Jurisdictions Requiring Permits in New York State” -
By Carol W. LaGrasse, June 4, 2003
When applying for a local building permit, property owners
are unaware of the multiplicity of local, state, and federal
agencies potentially having jurisdiction. The tentative list
of over 30 agencies in “Overlapping Jurisdictions”
shows the urgent need for a State clearinghouse to provide applicants
with an official list of potentially jurisdictional agencies.
|
 “Saratoga County
Canalway Trail Shrouded in Secrecy—Trail Planned along Champlain
Canal Route through Saratoga and Washington Counties”
- By Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA, October 22, 2002)
The New York State Canal Corporation, National Park Service,
and the New York Parks and Conservation are very quietly garnering
support for an elaborately planned proposal with federal funding
to build an uninterrupted 26-mile trail along the active and
abandoned Champlain Canal route from Waterford through Saratoga
County, to be followed by another 22 miles through Washington
County to Whitehall. The abandoned and active sections of the
canal pass through or are adjacent to private houses and backyards,
businesses, farms, and other private property, but the property
owners are not being given information.
|
- Terrorism - The New Excuse to Deny a Freedom of Information
Law Request
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection
lands bureau denied PRFA’s request for records of
newly issued or imposed revocable access permits for private
landowners who must pass through City-owned lands to reach their
property in the New York City watershed. See the following exchange
of letters:
- 1. Reply
from Marilyn Shanahan, New York City DEP, to Carol W. LaGrasse,
PRFA., November 1, 2002.
- 2. FOIL
request from Carol W. LaGrasse, PRFA, to Marilyn Shanahan, New
York City DEP, Office of Water Supply Lands, October 21, 2002
|
|
