N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 21, § 1401.2 – Designation of records access officer.

(a) The governing body of a public corporation and the head of an executive agency or governing body of other agencies shall be responsible for insuring compliance with the regulations herein, and shall designate one or more persons as records access officer by name or by specific job title and business address, and when requests are accepted via e-mail, an e-mail address, who shall have the duty of coordinating agency response to public requests for access to records. The designation of one or more records access officers shall not be construed to prohibit officials who have in the past been authorized to make records or information available to the public from continuing to do so.
(b) The records access officer is responsible for assuring that agency personnel:
1. (1) maintain an up-to-date subject matter list;
2. (2) assist persons seeking records to identify the records sought, if necessary, and when appropriate, indicate the manner in which the records are filed, retrieved or generated to assist persons in reasonably describing records;
3. (3) contact persons seeking records when a request is voluminous or when locating the records sought involves substantial effort, so that agency personnel may ascertain the nature of records of primary interest and attempt to reasonably reduce the volume of the records requested.
4. (4) upon locating the records, take one of the following actions:
  1. (i) make records promptly available for inspection; or
  2. (ii) deny access to the records in whole or in part and explain in writing the reasons therefor.
5. (5) upon request for copies of records:
  1. (i) make a copy available upon payment or offer to pay established fees, if any; or
  2. (ii) permit the requester to copy those records;
6. (6) upon request, certify that a record is a true copy; and
7. (7) upon failure to locate records, certify that:
  1. (i) the agency is not the custodian for such records; or
  2. (ii) the records of which the agency is a custodian cannot be found after diligent search.