The FULL New York State Death Index, 1880-2017

Reclaim The Records, a non-profit organization dedicated to government transparency and public access to historical records, proudly announces the court-ordered release of information from millions of New York State death records, spanning three centuries of New York’s vibrant history. Last week, after a four-year legal battle, New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled in favor of Reclaim the Records in the case Matter of Reclaim the Records v. New York State Department of Health, finding that the Department of Health must disclose comprehensive death index records that had been requested under the state’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).

This decision mandates the release of detailed information about more than ten million deceased New Yorkers, including their names, dates of death, residences at death, ages at death, and associated state file numbers, for all years spanning from the start of state-mandated records collection in 1880 through the end of the year 2017, extending far beyond the limited online database for state deaths from 1957 to 1972. The court has also suggested that many more fields of data than just the ones previously available for the limited timeframe may also be disclosed under FOIL, and has ordered the state to provide its records for an in-camera review to determine which additional fields of data may be released under FOIL, with the presumption clearly being stated as the public’s right of access to most of the information.

Brooke Schreier Ganz, founder and president of Reclaim the Records, stated:

Reclaim The Records began our work ten years ago right here in New York, using Freedom of Information laws as a direct reaction to the state’s unusually restrictive access to government-held historical and genealogical materials. All of New York’s neighboring states, and many others across the country, have made this same kind of vital records index information freely available to the public over the years, and finally those of us who live in the state or who have deep roots in the state will get to enjoy the same kind of access for our own families and research projects. With this lawsuit win, historians, genealogists, journalists, and teachers will be able to freely access state information about the millions of people who lived in, and died in, the Empire State.

She continued:

Beyond the particular records being released in this case, we are also gratified to have the Court of Appeals uphold so many important parts of New York’s Freedom of Information Law, and to reiterate the right of public access to government-held materials, even in the face of agencies who attempted to keep them secret without legal justification. Public records belong to the public, and we are thrilled to know this case will help many other people and organizations use the state FOIL to reclaim their own records, for many years to come.

Ganz added that the non-profit intends to publish this historical and modern death index data for free public use, in searchable, downloadable, and reusable file formats, as they have done after similar lawsuit wins in other states and jurisdictions.

Alec Ferretti, Professional Genealogist and Reclaim the Records Director explains:

The Court has affirmed the public’s right to its own history. Millions of deceased New Yorkers’ basic biographical information, previously entombed in a decommissioned Albany bomb shelter, will finally become accessible to all. Reclaiming the New York State Death Index will put New York in line with all its neighboring states, help clear the Department of Health’s research backlog, deter fraud, and pave the way for legislation that opens up even more historic records.

Alex Calzareth, Professional Genealogist and Reclaim the Records Director continues:

New Yorkers and their families will now have much easier access to their history. The New York State death index will help family historians and journalists among others to recover stories that have faded over time. This decision is a win for transparency and puts an authoritative and comprehensive source of government information in the public’s hands.

Michael Moritz, the organization’s attorney on the case, added:

After four years of representing RTR in this matter, from the initial inception of the FOIL request through the administrative process and up to the highest court in the state, I’m ecstatic by the result handed down by the Court of Appeals. This is a great day for RTR and all freedom of information law enthusiasts. I’m very happy that people near and far will be able to benefit from the broader access to New York death index data secured by this case.

The case originated in 2021 when Reclaim the Records filed a FOIL request seeking the full New York State death index through 2017. After the Department of Health denied the request, the organization pursued legal action, culminating in this ruling. This decision not only facilitates greater access to vital records for research and personal purposes but tells agencies in New York State that they need to produce evidence of a harm if they are going to withhold records. Reclaim The Records remains committed to uncovering and releasing public records that have been improperly withheld, ensuring that history remains accessible to all.

Reclaim The Records is a nonprofit organization comprised of genealogists, historians, researchers, and open government advocates. The organization identifies important genealogical record sets that are unjustly restricted by government agencies and works to make them publicly accessible through FOIL requests and, when necessary, litigation.