Public Access & Transparency

Public Notices, Kept Public

NYPA and the Empire State Local News Coalition safeguards public access to government information for all New Yorkers. 

 

Advocacy for Transparency

The public has a right to know what their government is doing. At the New York Press Association, we are committed to protecting and strengthening public notice publishing requirements.

By keeping notices in newspapers and on trusted local news websites, we ensure that important information is discovered organically by the very people it affects—neighbors, voters, and engaged community members.

Elected officials periodically review public notice requirements, and NYPA consistently advocates for continued public access through local news outlets.

Right to know

Protects public access

Visibility

Keeps info discoverable

Community

Reaches real readers

Trusted context

Alongside reporting

Accountability

Strengthens oversight

Reach

Statewide coverage

Top 5 Reasons Public Notices Belong in Print Newspapers

  1. 1
    Printed Public Notices Can Reach Everyone—Including People Without the Internet
    Many New Yorkers—particularly older adults, rural residents, low-income households, and members of certain religious communities—do not or cannot use the internet. Print newspapers remain their most reliable source of public information.
  2. 2
    Printed Public Notices Create Serendipitous Discovery
    Readers often come across public notices while browsing their local newspaper, even when they weren’t actively looking. That kind of passive exposure doesn’t happen on government websites, where you have to know to look in the first place.
  3. 3
    Newspapers are Trusted, Verified Institutions
    Subscription-based newspapers are longstanding institutions with accountability, editorial standards, and community roots. Notices posted on a government website or third-party aggregator can’t offer that same public trust.
  4. 4
    Public Notices Must Be Tamper-Proof and Visible
    Notices published in printed newspapers cannot be quietly edited, buried, or removed—they create a permanent, timestamped, third-party record. When notices are limited to obscure or government-controlled websites, unscrupulous actors could suppress or hide information the public has a right to see. Newspapers provide visibility and transparency no internal system can replicate.
  5. 5
    Public Notices are Essential to Civic Awareness and Oversight
    Public notices inform people of decisions before they happen—zoning changes, tax proposals, school budgets—giving residents the chance to participate and respond. That’s how accountability works in a democracy.