The Giuliani Papers
In 2002, former Mayor Giuliani, in an unprecedented move, took personal custody of his official city papers. Historians, archivists, and a wide range of citizens responded by signing our petition, urging Mayor Bloomberg to cancel the arrangement. In 2003, the City Council passed a law, which Bloomberg signed, in effect outlawing any future Giuliani-style privatization of the Archiving of Mayoral papers. Browse the links below for a history.
Petition
Former Mayor Giuliani, in an unprecedented and ill-advised action, has taken personal control of his official city papers. Under a contract worked out in the last days of his administration, Giuliani will have the right to block public access to any papers in which he deems he has a "private interest," unless Mayor Bloomberg renegotiates the agreement. We delivered the petition to City Hall at noon on February 6, 2002.
View the List of Signatures Ordered by Name
View the List of Signatures Ordered by Affiliation
Press Conference
On February 6, 2002, The Gotham Center held a press conference on the steps of City Hall to protest the removal of former Mayor Giuliani's records from the Municipal Archives. At that point, the Center also submitted a petition to Mayor Bloomberg, signed by over 800 concerned persons, demanding that the records be returned to the city.
Mike Wallace conference remarks
Society of American Archivists conference remarks
Text of contract transferring public papers to Rudolph W. Giuliani Center for Urban Affairs
Protest Letters
The response to former mayor Giuliani's actions with his administration's public records has been overwhelming and encouraging. In addition to appropriately wide coverage by the media, many city organizations are working hard to keep these records accessible and intact. Click on a link below to find out who's said what so far.
NYCLU press release
NYCLU letter to Mayor Bloomberg
NYCLU letter to NYS Department of State
Common Cause/NY, Citizen's Union, New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) letter to NYC Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo
Patricia Schroeder and Association of American Publishers letter to Mayor Bloomberg
Group of leading archivists and historians letter to Mayor Bloomberg
Letter from former mayor Ed Koch to New York Archival Society
Letter from New York Archival Society to Mayor Bloomberg
Letter from National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History to Mayor Bloomberg
Letter from Jeanne Young, President, NAGARA
News Articles on Giuliani's Papers
NEW YORK TIMES - NOVEMBER 18, 2007
What ‘That Regan Woman’ Knows
By FRANK RICH
CHICAGO TRIBUNE - OCTOBER 28, 2007
How Giuliani Tried to Control His NYC Legacy
By ANDREW ZAJAC
NEW YORK TIMES - MARCH 15, 2003
Despite Cuts, City Recordkeeper Can Do Job, Audit Finds
By JONATHAN P. HICKS
NEW YORK SUN - JANUARY 22, 2003
Giuliani, Columbia Are in Talks On Urban Leadership Program Ex-Mayor's Hotly Contested Files Could End Up at Ivy League School
By JULIA LEVY
DAILY NEWS - JANUARY 3, 2003
Rudy Chronicles, Bit by Bit
By JOANNE WASSERMAN
NEW YORK POST - JANUARY 3, 2003
Rudy's Records Returned to City
By FRANKIE EDOZIEN
NEWSDAY - JANUARY 3, 2003
Rudy Releases Some Records
By DAN JANISON
NEWSDAY - JANUARY 2, 2003
City Releases First Round of Records from Giuliani Administration
AP REPORT
NEWSDAY - OCTOBER 4, 2002
Giuliani Papers Under Wraps
NEW YORK TIMES - JUNE 26, 2002
Council to Consider New Archives Plan
By SUSAN SAULNY
NEW YORK TIMES - JUNE 25, 2002
Chasing the Giuliani Papers
EDITORIAL
VILLAGE VOICE - May 7, 2002
Double-Standard Deity
By WAYNE BARRETT
WNYC - MARCH 1, 2002
Presidential Privacy
By BROOKE GLADSTONE
NEW YORK TIMES - February 24, 2002
Whose History Is It, Anyway? The Public's or the Officials'?
By CELESTINE BOHLEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS - February 15, 2002
New plan for Giuliani records still conflicts with law, official says
By DIEGO IBARGUEN
NEWSDAY - February 15, 2002
Counsel: City Retains Rights to Rudy's Papers
By CURTIS L. TAYLOR
NEW YORK TIMES - February 15, 2002
City Agrees to Private Control of Giuliani's Mayoral Papers
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
ASSOCIATED PRESS -February 14, 2002
State official says contract over Giuliani records is inconsistent with the law
By DIEGO IBARGUEN
NEW YORK TIMES - February 11, 2002
Battling Over Records of Bush's Governorship
By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR - February 8, 2002
Scholarly dust-up over Giuliani's archives
By ALEXANDRA MARKS
NEWSDAY - February 8, 2002
Rudy Just Won't Let Go
By ELLIS HENICAN
NEW YORK TIMES - February 7, 2002
Archivists Demand That City Take Back Giuliani's Papers
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
NEW YORK TIMES - February 7, 2002
So Long, And See You In the Papers
By JOYCE PURNICK
NEWSDAY - February 7, 2002
Historians Protest Transfer Of Records
By ROBERT POLNER
ASSOCIATED PRESS - February 6, 2002
Historians Want Giuliani Records
NEW YORK TIMES - February 6, 2002
Giuliani Defends Removing Papers From City Control
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
DAILY NEWS - February 6, 2002
Won't Keep My Papers Private: Rudy
By JOANNE WASSERMAN
NEWSDAY - February 6, 2002
The Paper Chase Is On: Protests over Rudy documents in private hands
By CURTIS L. TAYLOR
DAILY NEWS - February 05, 2002
Giuliani's Paper Play Irks Some Historians: Rudy documents out of city hands
By JOANNE WASSERMAN
NEWSDAY - January 28, 2002
Open Access: City shouldn't leave it to Giuliani to control who gets to see his mayoral documents
EDITORIAL
NEW YORK TIMES - January 25, 2002
Giuliani's Papers Go to Private Group, Not City
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
NY DAILY NEWS - January 25, 2002
Mike Troubled by Rudy Locking Up His Papers
By JOANNE WASSERMAN
VILLAGE VOICE - January 22, 2002
Rudy Heists City Archives to Shape His Own Legend: Hijacking History
By WAYNE BARRETT
City Council Hearings Regarding The Giuliani Papers
On both February 20 and April 5, the City Council heard testimony from archivists, historians, legal experts and others who protested the control of former mayor Giuliani's offcial papers by a private archiving facility. Thus far, the Council has responded favorably to the testimony, and the coalition fighting to keep Giuliani's papers accessible to the public is hopeful that it might take action to resolve this crisis. Click on the links below to read a transcript of selected testimony.
February 27, 2003
Janet Linde, Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York
Gene Russianoff, New York Public Interest Research Group
June 25, 2002
Testimony of the New York Civil Liberties Union
April 5, 2002
Thomas Connors on behalf of the Society of American Archivists
Testimony of Jeffery M. Flannery, The Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference
Testimony of Janet Linde, Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York
Testimony of the New York Civil Liberties Union
February 20, 2002
Mike Wallace, Director, Gotham Center; John Jay College
Robert C. Morris, Director, National Archives & Records Administration - Northeast Region
Donna Lieberman, Executive Director, New York Civil Liberties Union
Gene Russianoff, Senior Attorney, New York Public Interest Reasearch Group, Inc.
Geof Huth, New York State Caucus Chair, Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference
Thomas Connors, Society of American Archivists
Janet Linde, Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York
Thomas Kessner, Graduate Center, City University of New York
Idilio Gracia-Peña, Former Commissioner, NYC Department of Records and Information Resources