2012 New York Consolidated Laws
PBO - Public Officers
Article 6 - (84 - 90) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW
84 - Legislative declaration.

 
    § 84. Legislative  declaration.  The  legislature  hereby finds that a
  free society is maintained when government is responsive and responsible
  to the public, and when the public is aware of governmental actions. The
  more  open  a  government  is  with  its  citizenry,  the  greater   the
  understanding and participation of the public in government.
    As  state  and  local government services increase and public problems
  become more sophisticated and complex and therefore harder to solve, and
  with  the  resultant  increase  in  revenues  and  expenditures,  it  is
  incumbent   upon   the   state  and  its  localities  to  extend  public
  accountability wherever and whenever feasible.
    The people's right to know the process of governmental decision-making
  and to review the documents and statistics leading to determinations  is
  basic  to our society. Access to such information should not be thwarted
  by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality.
    The legislature therefore declares that  government  is  the  public's
  business   and  that  the  public,  individually  and  collectively  and
  represented by a free press,  should  have  access  to  the  records  of
  government in accordance with the provisions of this article.