Former Hoboken 2nd Ward Councilwoman Beth Mason is suing the Mile Square City over a delayed Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request response.
Mason, who served two terms on the City Council between 2007 and 2015, filed a two-count lawsuit in Hudson County yesterday alleging that the municipality sought an unreasonable extension of an OPRA request she filed on March 12th.
” … The Mason Request is requested an ‘Unsafe Structure Notice issued October 1, 2025 from the City of Hoboken Construction Official Mario Patruno regarding 916 Castle Point Terrace,'” the court filing says.
” … Elizabeth Mason is a Hoboken resident, and the documents pertain to a property, 916 Castle Point Terrace, Hoboken, which is adjacent to and abuts her property (921 Hudson Street).”
The suit, where Mason is represented by Totowa-based attorney Jeffrey Kantowitz, indicated that she filed her request via email on March 12th and the City Clerk’s Office asked for an additional 60 business days, which would be a June 17th due date.
In New Jersey, OPRA requests are supposed to be answered within seven business days, though many municipalities and agencies ask for extensions for various reasons – some legitimate and some just to delay the response.
Kantowitz replied on March 20th, calling a request for a 60 business day extension “a blatant violation of OPRA” and that Mason would be expecting a response by March 27th.
As of yesterday when the case was filed, Mason had not received any further communications from the city, according to the court filing.
For that reason, she is seeking a judgement against the city and the clerk that says they violated OPRA that comes with a fine, immediately release all records necessary to fulfill the OPRA request, directing the city to comply with future request, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs of suit, along with any other relief the court deems just and equitable.
This is far from Mason’s first time suing Hoboken for public records: She filed eight cases alleging OPRA violations in the mid-2000’s, according to the New York Times.
City spokeswoman Marilyn Baer did not return an email seeking comment on Wednesday, though the city typically does not comment on pending litigation.