in src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/validation/dfsrefdb/zookeeper/ZkSharedRefDatabase.java [177:197]
  public <T> Optional<T> get(Project.NameKey project, String refName, Class<T> clazz)
      throws GlobalRefDbSystemError {
    if (!exists(project, refName)) {
      return Optional.empty();
    }
    try {
      final byte[] valueInZk = client.getData().forPath(pathFor(project, refName));
      if (valueInZk == null) {
        logger.atInfo().log("%s:%s not found in Zookeeper", project, refName);
        return Optional.empty();
      }
      return Optional.of(readGenericType(valueInZk, clazz));
    } catch (Exception e) {
      logger.atSevere().withCause(e).log("Cannot get value for %s:%s", project, refName);
      return Optional.empty();
    }
  }