The Office of the General Counsel oversees various areas of work, handles a wide range of matters and provides legal counsel on all aspects of the Agency's functions, including in connection with interpretations and application of the NYC Construction Codes, NYC Zoning Resolution and other applicable laws, licensing, contracts, employment, privacy, and conflict of interest matters. The Office defends Agency determinations at the Board of Standards and Appeals, drafts and reviews rules, legislation and policies and procedures and works closely with the NYC Law Department on litigation and other matters. The Office includes the FOIL and Subpoena Unit.

The FOIL and Subpoena Unit directs and assists with agency compliance with the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) demands, Court-ordered subpoenas for records, depositions and testimony, NYC Comptroller Claims document requests, and NYC Law Department requests for records, including for discovery in connection with litigation.

The Unit intakes approximately 400 to over 500 FOIL demands each month. This does not include all the other document demands noted above.

The General Counsel's Office seeks to hire the Agency's Records Access Officer and Supervisor of the FOIL and Subpoena Unit. This is a legally-mandated position, required by the New York State Public Officers Law, which sets forth the provisions that govern FOIL.

The Records Access Officer is in charge of the FOIL & Subpoena Unit, supervising six (6) PAA Level 1's. This position would also supervise a temp worker and certain FOIL work that other staff-members in other DOB units perform. The position requires the individual to have the following key responsibilities:

1. Assign FOILs Requests to FOIL staff;
2. Approve time sheets/time & leave for all supervisee staff; conduct staff evaluations;
3. Handle high-profile FOILs, including FOILs from the Press;
4. Prepare and lead monthly pre-meetings for members of senior staff;
5. Track status of FOILs overall in the public facing web-based NYC OpenRecords Portal including statistics and performing spot checks;
6. Handle correspondence and calls with the public;
7. Audit staff responses;
8. Coordinate FOIL projects;
9. Gather documents for city agency requests and the NYC Law Department requests, including for discovery in connection with litigation.
10. Assist with Court-ordered subpoenas, including getting DOB witnesses for depositions and for court testimony/appearances;
11. Responsible for the timely production of subpoenaed documents;
12. Speak with outside attorneys, including- government attorneys, as needed;
13. Gather documents for NYC Comptroller requests;
14. Train new and existing staff;
15. Provide support, advice, guidance to staff; meet regularly with FOIL staff;
16. Reach out to other DOB Units and Borough Offices as needed for documents and information;
17. Work with data analytics to obtain data for FOILs requests;
18. Review and redact documents for privilege, exemptions and relevance, as needed;
19. Certify documents as DOB records for Court.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Only permanent Principal Administrative Associates, applicants who are reachable on the Principal Administrative Associate open competitive list, and applicants as indicated below will be considered will be considered

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and three years of satisfactory full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience, one year of which must have been in an administrative capacity or supervising staff performing clerical/administrative work of more than moderate difficulty; or
2. An associate degree or 60 semester credits from an accredited college and four years of satisfactory full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience including one year of the administrative supervisory experience described in "1" above; or
3. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a State's department of education or a recognized accrediting organization and five years of satisfactory full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience including one year of the administrative supervisory experience as described in "1" above;
4. Education and/or experience equivalent to "1", "2", or "3" above. However, all candidates must possess the one year of administrative or supervisory experience as described in "1" above. Education above the high school level may be substituted for the general clerical/administrative experience (but not for the one year of administrative or supervisory experience described in "1" above) at a rate of 30 semester credits from an accredited college for 6 months of experience up to a maximum of 3½ years.

- Computer literacy - Working knowledge of Microsoft Office with proficiency in Outlook, Word, Excel, and Access - Ability to utilize databases - Excellent organizational and communication skills - Ability to work independently and as a member of a team - Ability to organize and manage workload that has multiple priorities

This position is also open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a Program. Please indicate at the top of your resume and cover letter that you would like to be considered for the position through the 55-a Program.

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.