Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. Files Open Public Records Act (OPRA) Lawsuit on Behalf of a Citizen Activist Against the City of Newark to Access the Amazon Bid, Contracts

On Tuesday, February 20, 2018, Hackensack based law firm Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, acting on behalf of Steven Wronko, a client and citizen activist, filed an OPRA lawsuit in the Superior Court of New Jersey against the City of Newark to access the proposal it submitted to Amazon for its second headquarters.

Newark denied access not only to its proposal, but also to any contracts it had with third-party vendors who helped it prepare the proposal. Other New Jersey cities and other finalist cities, including Boston, Philadelphia and Miami, have released their proposal to the public. Newark claims that releasing the bid and contracts would give other cities a “competitive advantage.”

Wronko feels the public has the right to know what Newark’s proposal included, as well as the cost of third-party vendors such as consultants, proposal writers and public relations firms. By prohibiting the public from seeing to these documents, citizens have no idea how much their city has put into landing Amazon’s headquarters.

Pashman Stein Walder Hayden Litigation Partner CJ Griffin is handling the case on behalf of Mr. Wronko.

To see a copy of the filed brief please click here.
To see a copy of the verified complaint please click here.