FOIC ruling to face challenge
Aaron Bray
Staff Reporter
Published Friday, August 29, 2008

This July, the Elm City Resident Card celebrated both its one-year anniversary and a long-awaited court victory — although opponents are looking to cut the celebrations short.

At the conclusion of months of testimony and hearings before the state Freedom of Information Commission, New Haven’s decision to keep private the identities of city residents who signed up for the card was upheld by the full commission. The decision follows the recommendations made by a hearing officer — the FOIC version of a courtroom judge — the month before. While the decision secures the immediate future of the card program as it enters its second year, plaintiffs in the case said they still plan to pursue legal action to overturn the FOIC decision, starting today.

Journalist Chris Powell and Dustin Gold, founder of the anti-illegal immigrant Community Watchdog Project, had sought the names, addresses and photos of ID cardholders from the city. The five-member FOIC found that to release the identities of cardholders would constitute a public-safety risk, just as the city had argued. The city’s argument was also backed by the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security at the hearings.

But Gold said Thursday that he plans to file papers today to overturn the FOIC decision.

“We will be appealing the decision to Superior Court,â€