A decision by a state mid-level appeals court could significantly impact the public’s right to know who is getting public pension benefits from and how much money they’re getting.

A state Appellate Court today (Tuesday) came out against a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request brought by the Empire Center for Public Policy that sought the names of retired New York City police officers receiving pension benefits from the New York City Police Pension Fund.

The Empire Center, which publishes salaries and compensation data for thousands of public employees in the state on its website, SeeThroughNY, sought to include the names of the retired officers in its online catalogue.

In upholding a lower court ruling denying the center’s FOIL request, the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, First Department, in New York City cited a 1983 case in which a FOIL request was denied for police pensioners’ names and addresses.

The Empire Center argued in its appeal that it was only seeking to publish names, not addresses, but the court ruled that the requests were not substantially different.

The center’s director says his organization hopes to appeal the ruling to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.

“If allowed to stand, this decision will be a massive blow to open government and transparency in New York,” Timothy Hoefer, director of the Albany-based Empire Center, said in a press release. “As taxpayer costs for public pensions continue to skyrocket, the Appellate Division is reversing decades of precedent by saying that taxpayers have no right to know who is collecting pension benefits.”…..

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