Reclaim the Records won the first-ever public release of the FULL New York State Death Index, from 1880 through the end of 2017

Reclaim the Records 

Quoting from the announcement:

Reclaim The Records, a non-profit organization dedicated to government transparency and public access to historical records, proudly announces the court-ordered release of information from millions of New York State death records, spanning three centuries of New York’s vibrant history. Last week, after a four-year legal battle, New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled in favor of Reclaim the Records in the case Matter of Reclaim the Records v. New York State Department of Health, finding that the Department of Health must disclose comprehensive death index records that had been requested under the state’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL)

For more information about this monumental court decision, please take time to read the following web page:

Indexed data from more than ten million records from the state of New York for the years 1880-2017 have now been ordered released by the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in New York. 

Are you aware that there are many other public record collections that are restricted or only available behind a pay wall? You may wish to read some of the other articles in the battles faced by the Reclaim the Records staff and supporters. Please note that Reclaim the Records releases all these records into the public domain. 

See: https://www.reclaimtherecords.org/