Boat Show may block Miami’s 2016 Super Bowl bid

This winter, the biggest NFL match-up in South Florida might be Super Bowl versus Boat Show.

As South Florida readies a bid for the 2016 Super Bowl, it must contend with a major potential conflict on the tourism calendar. The National Football League may move the Super Bowl to Presidents’ Day weekend, already home to the five-day Miami International Boat Show since the 1940s.

It’s a significant enough conflict that, in the past, local tourism officials have declined to pursue a Super Bowl if it fell on boat show weekend. But this time around they may have no choice. For the first time, the NFL is requiring that potential host cities agree to a Presidents’ Day weekend Super Bowl if they want to pursue the big game at all, said two people who have seen the NFL request for Super Bowl bids.

The NFL “invited South Florida [to bid] knowing there was going to be an issue with Presidents’ Day weekend and the boat show,” said Nicki Grossman, Broward’s tourism director. “In the past, South Florida has not responded to a Super Bowl date that included Presidents’ Day weekend. This package is different.”

South Florida vies with New Orleans as the top Super Bowl host, with government and tourism leaders touting the game as both a boon to the economy and a publicity bonanza. But the notion of accommodating both Super Bowl and boat show — not to mention a major arts festival in Coconut Grove — strikes some top tourism officials as a bad idea.

“There is not sufficient hotel inventory available in Miami that weekend to host a Super Bowl,” said William Talbert, president of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We have taken a close look at that weekend, and it’s not physically possible in Miami to host Super Bowl during the Presidents’ Day weekend because of the boat show and the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. The hotel inventory is all being used for these two great events.”

His comments are at odds with the region’s top Super Bowl organizer and reflect the burden that the boat show may be to South Florida’s Super Bowl hopes for 2016 and 2017. The NFL invited Miami and San Francisco to bid for the 2016 Super Bowl by April 1, with the loser vying with Houston for the 2017 game. Talbert said the bid package states both decisions will be made in May.

For now, South Florida’s Super Bowl organizers face a largely hypothetical challenge, because the current NFL schedule has the Super Bowl occurring two weeks before Presidents’ Day weekend. The bid requirements for the ’16 and ’17 Super Bowls include three consecutive weekends as possibilities for the game, with the latest falling on the Presidents’ Day holiday.

Still, possible logistical hurdles may combine with political obstacles if the Miami Dolphins resume their push for a tax-funded renovation of Sun Life Stadium, the Super Bowl’s South Florida home.

Last year, the Dolphins proposed that Broward and Miami-Dade counties subsidize a $225 million renovation at Sun Life as a way to keep the region competitive for Super Bowls and other large events. The renovation includes a partial roof that would prevent the kind of drenching Super Bowl spectators suffered in 2007 when a rare February downpour hit Miami Gardens.

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Artwork of young Miami-Dade artist will be showcased during Art Basel week

A week into his 18th birthday, Rey “Rson” Jaffet is already a promising local artist - and he’s still attending high school in the Miami-Dade public school system.

And this period in his life is what his art tries to capture, said the Miami Palmetto High senior. “It’s that point when you’re a teen but are maturing into adulthood,’’ he said.

Jaffet might be young but he’s an old hand at art. He sold his first piece in 7th grade for $5,000. It was a colorful three-panel African-themed work called New Horizon.

Fittingly, many of his artwork is done with children’s colored pencils and spray paint.

Next week, Jaffet will join thousands of older local and international artists who will have their artwork on display in Miami Beach and Wynwood as part of Art Basel week.

Several Jaffet pieces will hang at the 50 Shades of Art Show at the 1004 Gallery in Wynwood at 175 NW 23rd St.

Meet and greet with the artists will be from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and next Wednesday. His works sells for between $1,000 to $5,000.

Among the pieces showcased at the gallery is Jaffet’s award-winning self-portrait called Split Decision Within, which reveals inner struggle. “Through my art, I try to portray hardships, achievements and misunderstanding as it relates to the modern teenage lifestyle,” he said.

The Kendall resident recently won the prestigious 2012 National Scholastic American Visions Drawing Award, which honors outstanding pieces in the nation which are then displayed in Carnegie Hall in New York. He won for his self-portrait.

Jaffet’s work is also part of the 2012-2013 Art.Write.Now Tour that will visit Detroit, Virginia Beach, Kansas City and Fort Worth.

And it’s not his first time in the big art arena. His work was on display in Wynwood/South Beach during Art Basel 2011.

Jaffet's artistic style is described as “encompass sing modern realism along with urban influences.”

Jaffet’s says he also works with oils, acrylics, mixed media, graffiti and designs sneakers.

Jaffet, who lives in Kendall, is the son of physical therapist parents; his father is an athletic trainer for the Miami Heat. Jaffet has the support of his family and two respected local artists — Miguel Paredes and Enrique "Sero" Cruz — who have taken Jaffet under their wing. “They’ve been wonderful to me,” he said.

Jaffet’s goal now is to win a scholarship to a prestigious art school.

“Then I want to be a full-time artist for the rest of my life,’’ he said.

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Times Sq. cop’s heart and sole

The NYPD cop who spent his hard-earned cash on a frigid night to buy boots for a shivering homeless man recalled the encounter as “humbling.”

“It’s what I felt I had to do,” Officer Larry DePrimo said yesterday of the Nov. 14 encounter in Times Square. “I just looked down at this gentleman’s feet, and you could see the blisters . . . It was just so cold that I had to do something.”

Moved by the unidentified man’s suffering, DePrimo spent about $50 to buy boots and socks. He put them on the man’s feet himself.

“What sticks out in my mind is that he was just such a kind gentleman that I really had to help him,” DePrimo said. “I wanted to. It’s a very humbling experience.”

AP

ON FOOT PATROL: Officer Larry DePrimo heads to address the press at Police Headquarters yesterday after this image (above) showing him giving a homeless man socks and a pair of Skechers boots — turned him into an Internet sensation.

The 25-year-old cop — whose base pay would be about $48,000 — did not know his good deed was being photographed by Arizona tourist Jennifer Foster, herself a law-enforcement veteran.

Foster sent the photo to the NYPD, which this week posted it to its Facebook page.

It went viral, and by late Thursday it had been shared more than 144,000 times and collected nearly 429,000 “likes.”

DePrimo, a two-year cop who works out of the 6th Precinct in the West Village, had been working a special Midtown detail near 44th Street when he saw the man walking barefoot on Seventh Avenue at around 9:30 p.m.

People were laughing at the man, recalled DePrimo, whose own feet were freezing in boots and two pairs of socks on the 35-degree night.

“I went up to him and said, ‘Where are your shoes?’ ” DePrimo recalled. “And he said, ‘It’s OK. I’ve never had a pair of shoes, but God bless you.’

“And that had really taken me aback, because this gentleman had enough heart to say God bless me, and he didn’t even have a pair of socks!”

DePrimo ran ahead of the man down Seventh Avenue, to a Skechers store, told them the situation and asked for help.

“I said, ‘Listen, I’d like to buy a pair of boots, something that’s going to last awhile,’ ” he recalled.

Saleswoman Kanissia Goslyn, 20, waited on the kindhearted cop.

“He said, ‘This guy outside is shaking, and he doesn’t have any shoes on. He looks like he’s dying,’ ” Goslyn told The Post.

“I asked what he needed, and he said he just wanted anything warm.”

DePrimo went out to ask the man his shoe size, and Goslyn found a pair of size 12, $99 “Skechers North” black boots lined with Thinsulate insulation.

“We gave him a 50 percent discount because of his kindness,” she said.

DePrimo also ran out and bought socks from another store.

“When I brought out the shoes, he had a smile from ear to ear — it was absolutely amazing,” DePrimo said of the homeless man.

Unaware the tourist Foster was watching, DePrimo had the man sit on the sidewalk, then knelt beside him and put the shoes and socks on his feet.

“I was never so impressed in my life,” Foster said.

DePrimo said the mystery man declined an offer to get a cup of coffee and something to eat.

“I was able to share that moment with him, and then he just continued to walk on his way,” the cop said. “It was a great moment for both of us.”

The cop’s gesture came as no surprise to his parents, who said he got them out of bed to tell them about it that night.

“It seemed to really bother him,” said DePrimo’s mom, Angela.

“He woke us up and started talking about this homeless man he’d seen, and how much it bothered him that people were making fun of the man.”

“The part that really got me was that he actually put the socks and the shoes on the man,” Angela said.

“A lot of people can buy things, but he actually bent down and put them on. When he told me that part, I just gave him a hug.”

“It doesn’t surprise me one bit that he’d do that, that’s the kind of guy he is,” said his dad, Lawrence.

“In college, after Hurricane Katrina, he made two trips with Habitat for Humanity to Louisiana to help. He’s a good, decent guy, and I’m not just saying that because he’s my son.”

DePrimo, who has an older sister and younger brother, was an honor-roll student at Connetquot HS in Bohemia, LI, and went to Pace University on a swimming scholarship, where he graduated with a history degree, his dad said.

“Everyone’s always liked him, from his principals to his teachers,” his mom said. “He’s just that kind of boy. I guess because he cares about other people.”

A certified teacher, DePrimo intended to pursue that career until the economy went south and he got accepted to the Police Academy.

He was presented with a pair of special cuff links by NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly — and said he hopes someday to meet the homeless man again.

“I’d probably try to get him something to eat again,” the cop said, “Because I was unsuccessful the first time and I don’t like having a bad track record.”

DePrimo said he keeps the receipt for the boots in his bulletproof vest.

“I think it’s an important reminder,” the officer explained.

“Especially now, some people have it really tough, and when you’re having a bad day, you might think things can’t get any worse, then you see something like this and you remember people have it worse.”

Additional reporting by Amber Sutherland

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California Pizza Kitchen brings prototype to Sawgrass Mills

The restaurant chain that took barbecued chicken pizza mainstream is ready to push the culinary envelope again. How about a pizza topped with roasted Brussels sprouts and applewood smoked bacon or a Korean barbecue pizza with pork loin and spicy kimchee salad?

Innovative menu items are just one piece of what’s unique about California Pizza Kitchen’s new flagship restaurant unveiled Thursday at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise. The first of its kind, the Sawgrass location aims to reinvigorate the brand that started in 1985 in Beverly Hills.

“The whole idea is about taking the best of what put us on the map and making it relevant for 2012 and beyond,” said G.J. Hart, who took over as chief executive officer of the chain just over a year ago. “Over the years the brand morphed from being a leader and it became a follower of food trends. We want to bring back the hip, cool feel.”

The changes are obvious from the moment you walk into the restaurant, which opens to the public Monday. The new look is all about focusing on the chain’s California roots. Very little of the bright yellow and chrome remains. The design is California-casual with earth tones and reclaimed wood everywhere from the walls to the floor and tables. An outdoor terrace with couches and fire pits is designed to encourage lingering. Large windows and glass doors let in lots of natural light and fold open to enjoy the weather.

Pizza is center stage with the kitchen designed so diners can watch the pizza makers at work. At the Sawgrass location — and by mid-2013 at all restaurants — pizzas will once again by hand-tossed. Currently the chain uses a pizza press to make the dough more uniform.

The new focus is on upping the culinary quotient across the board with dishes like a roasted beets and whipped goat cheese salad, plus a sweet pea carbonara featuring pea-filled pasta purses tossed with Italian pancetta and a Romano cream sauce. These are some of the unique items only on the Sawgrass menu, which also features a specialty menu of hand-crafted cocktails.

Chain-wide the company has actually slimmed the menu from more than 100 items to 74 in order to improve execution. But there are also more healthy choices like quinoa and arugula salad or a fire-roasted chile relleno stuffed with chicken, cheese, mushrooms, spinach and eggplant that dishes up at only 380 calories.

“As we grew, we didn’t keep up with the creativity on the menu and we tried to be all things to all people,” said Brian Sullivan, senior vice president of culinary innovation, who has been with the company for 24 years. “We’re always going to be pizza-centric. But we’ll continue to push the envelope with these specialty items that resonate with who we are. We don’t want items that you are going to see in other restaurants.”

The chain chose Sawgrass to unveil its new flagship location because of a combination of the area’s diverse demographic base and the influx of international visitors. South Florida has already been a strong market for the brand, which has seven locations in the tri-county area stretching from Coral Gables to Palm Beach Gardens.

The opening is the culmination of a new vision that began to take shape when Golden Gate Capital purchased California Pizza Kitchen in July 2011 for $470 million, taking the company private and bringing in Hart as the new chief executive.

“They saw a brand that was undervalued,” said Hart, who has an ownership stake in the chain. “This is an iconic brand with so much brand equity. If we can bring the excitement and enthusiasm back we’re only going to see it go up.”

Industry experts say the changes make sense because the brand still has a loyal following, although it has not kept pace with the competition.

“It’s a good time for them to go back to what were the fundamental things that made the brand so intriguing,” said Dennis Lombardi of WD Partners, a restaurant industry consultant. “The difficulty is going to be getting the word out to consumers that this is different. The devil is always in the details in these kind of evolutions.”

Based on consumer reaction, the plan is to take pieces of the Sunrise concept and introduce it into the chain’s other 268 existing restaurants. Some restaurants could be completely remodeled, but most will only get elements of the new prototype, which cost $2 million in Sunrise, Hart said. The company’s Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton locations could be strong candidates for remodeling next year or early 2014, he said.

Community and business leaders, who got a first look at the restaurant on Thursday, were impressed.

“This is phenomenal,” said Luanne Lenberg, general manager of Sawgrass Mills. “We’re so excited to have this caliber of restaurant and to be their test for the rest of the world.”

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Miami-Dade ethics board rebukes two city of Miami commissioners

The county ethics commission dinged Miami Commissioner Frank Carollo this week for phoning the police chief after Carollo was pulled over for a traffic stop.

Separately, Miami Commission Vice Chairman Marc Sarnoff was reprimanded for not filing a gift disclosure when the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau paid his way to Brazil.

Sarnoff said his travels did not constitute a gift because he carried out public business. “I did everything I could do, including getting legal advice, to determine that the trip was not a gift,” he said.

Carollo denied wrongdoing in a response to the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust written by his attorney. He declined comment Wednesday.

The grievance against Carollo said that he called Miami Police Chief Manuel Orosa during a traffic stop in Coconut Grove in August. Carollo was pulled over after attempting to drive his black Lexus around a stopped recycling truck. He called the chief, who called the district commander, who reached out to the officer making the traffic stop.

The officer let Carollo go with a warning.

In the written response to the ethics commission, Carollo’s attorney said the commissioner had never asked Orosa for special treatment. Rather, Carollo called the chief “to inquire ‘what the problem was’ since the circumstances seemed odd.”

The “odd circumstances” included another car stop in the area.

“Commissioner Carollo’s request for a status [report] was well within his authority to communicate with the police chief, and was not accompanied by any request to obtain any resolution of the vehicle stop,” attorney Benedict Kuehne wrote.

Kuehne added: “The officer made the very reasonable decision to issue no traffic citation because the circumstances did not warrant the issuance of a ticket.”

Orosa also told investigators that Carollo had not asked for any favors.

But the ethics commission concluded that Carollo “clearly intended to use his influence with the police chief to avoid a traffic citation.”

“There was no legitimate reason for Carollo to call the chief of police other than to put into motion a chain of events that Carollo hoped would extricate him from a traffic situation that ordinary citizens find themselves in every day,” the ethics commission wrote.

The complaint against Sarnoff involved a trip he and his wife took to Brazil in April.

The pair went to watch the yachts in the Volvo Ocean Race depart Itajai for Miami, the next port of call. Sarnoff also travelled to Rio and Sao Paulo, with the Convention & Visitors Bureau footing the bill for his travel, lodging and meals.

Sarnoff did not disclose the trip as a gift, nor did he disclose that the Volvo Ocean Race had reimbursed him for his wife’s roundtrip airfare.

Sarnoff said he was acting on advice from Miami City Attorney Julie O. Bru. In a legal opinion, Bru said disclosure was unnecessary because the trip did not constitute a gift, but rather city business.

“I never held this secret,” Sarnoff said. “I did everything I was supposed to do. I talked about it openly.” He described the trip as “105 percent work.”

As for Teresa Sarnoff’s travel expenses, Marc Sarnoff said they, too, were incurred during “official” city business.

“The commissioner was unquestionably assisted in his official duties by Ms. Sarnoff and he quite honestly believed that Ms. Sarnoff was conducting city business,” Sarnoff’s attorney, John Dellagloria, wrote in a response to the ethics commission’s findings.

The ethics commission has said that elected officials don’t have to declare tickets to local events they attend for professional reasons. But according to the final report on the Sarnoff case, “all-expense paid trips to distant and exotic locales deserve different consideration since the grandiose scale of the gift creates a larger appearance of impropriety.”

The ethics commission will send a letter to Sarnoff suggesting he report his wife’s travel expenses as a gift. Another letter will be sent to the Miami city attorney to clarify when business trips must be reported as gifts.

The two complaints were filed last month by blogger Al Crespo.

Sarnoff also took a trip to China this year, where he watched the Miami Heat play a preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers. In October, Sarnoff said the Heat paid for his flight and hotel. On Wednesday, he said the Shanghai Sports Bureau paid for him and his wife.

He now plans to declare that trip as a gift, he said.

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Mike in DC, hat in hand

WASHINGTON — Mayor Bloomberg took New York City’s case for $19 billion in disaster relief to Capitol Hill yesterday, chatting up congressional leaders, whom he described as receptive to helping.

“From both Republicans and Democrats in both houses, we got a very optimistic buzz,” he said.

The mayor’s visit with eight lawmakers, including leaders in the House and Senate, came as some Republicans in the chambers are calling for any disaster aid to be granted only if spending can be cut in other parts of the federal budget to pay for it.

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Gift ideas for the techie on your list

The holidays are coming fast, and if you’re like me, you’ve probably gotten very little of your gift shopping done.

Here are suggestions for a variety of gifts for the techie and the not-so-techie people on your list.

Some of these items can be found in stores and some are only available online, but you should be able to order them in time for Christmas or Hanukkah.

IOMEGA EZ MEDIA & BACKUP CENTER

What is it? A hard drive that lives on your home network so you can share files, store all your photos and music and back up your home computers. Works on Macintosh, Windows and Linux computers.

The EZ Media & Backup Center is available in 1-, 2- and 3-terabyte capacities. It is simple to set up. It lives next to your home router and plugs into the network via Ethernet.

Major features include a built-in iTunes server so your music is available to all connected computers, Time Machine support for easy Macintosh backups and Iomega’s Personal Cloud to access your data from any Internet connection.

It can also stream your video files to your TV if you’ve got a compatible streaming box or an Internet-connected TV.

Software for backing up Windows PCs is also included.

Who’s it for? Any family that wants central storage for their digital lives. This is a great home for your digital photo, music or video library.

What does it cost? One terabyte for $169.99, two terabytes for $209.99, three terabytes for $279.99.

Where can you get it? Online at www.iomega.com, Amazon, Best Buy, Apple store, Fry’s.

NETATMO URBAN WEATHER STATION

What is it? A wireless indoor/outdoor weather station that displays through an application on your Apple or Android mobile device.

There are two parts, one that lives in your house and one you place outside.

The indoor component plugs into the wall and monitors the temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, carbon dioxide level and even the sound level in decibels.

The outdoor module is battery-powered and measures temperature and humidity.

Once you connect the Netatmo to your home Wi-Fi network, you can download the free app and see your weather stats from anywhere.

Setup was easy enough, and you can set the app to notify you when carbon dioxide rises to levels that you should be warned about — which is great.

Who’s it for? Weather geeks and people who like to know what the temperature is without having to fire up a browser.

What does it cost? $179

Where can you get it? www.netatmo.com

3M LED ADVANCED LIGHT

What is it? 3M’s first foray into the home light bulb market is with the LED Advanced Light, which uses light-emitting diodes (LED) to produce 800 lumens (the light of a 60-watt bulb).

The Advanced Light has a life span of 25 years and costs just $1.63 per year if it’s turned on for three hours per day.

The bulb lights instantly and is dimmable.

It’s a little intimidating to start buying light bulbs that might outlive me, but my wallet approves.

Who’s it for? Anyone who wants to save money or wants a bulb that might not have to be changed until 2035.

What does it cost? $25

Where can you get it? Select Wal-Mart stores. For more information, go to www.3mlighting.com/LED.

STEM IZON 2.0 WI-FI VIDEO MONITOR

What is it? A small, wireless video camera that you can monitor remotely with an iOS device.

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Weatherman conned by South Beach “Bar Girls” has Twitter account hijacked by Playboy fiancée

A former TV weatherman who testified 11 days ago in a Miami federal courtroom that Latvian “Bar Girls” swindled him out of $43,000 on Miami Beach, was back in the spotlight Tuesday over suggestive photos and tweets sent from his Twitter account.

John Bolaris, who was suspended from his job as a weather anchor for Fox affiliate WTXF in Philadelphia last year amid his allegations that as a tourist in South Florida in 2010 he was drugged and robbed, apparently was asleep Sunday when his fiancée Erica Smitheman drunkenly took over his Twitter account and promised to post nude pictures of herself, the New York Daily News is reporting.

The former Playboy model started her Twitter binge by writing: “Hello this is Erica…love John, he loves you all, I guess it’s ok if I send you all a naked photo or two…don’t tell my love.”

She continued to write suggestive tweets referring to her modeling past and hinting that she’d taken over Bolaris’ account while he slept, the newspaper reported.

“This is Erica, I did pose in Playboy…so what,” she wrote. “I will post my naked pictures…John has no clue... I am tweeting, he’s sleeping.”

Smitheman did not post nude photos, only one suggestive one, but her offer caused a stir in the Twitterverse.

To read the New York Daily News story click here.

Bolaris, who appears on the Howard Stern radio show, last made headlines earlier this month in Miami when he testified about his misadventures in the hands of a Latvian crime ring, which used two beautiful women to lure him from a club and back to his hotel and in the process ran up his credit card, he said.

Here’s the story that ran in MiamiHerald.com on Nov. 16, the day after Bolaris testified in court:

More than two years after his “nightmare on South Beach,” former TV weatherman John Bolaris remains a little foggy about his close encounter with a couple of Latvian “Bar Girls” who swindled him for $43,000 in bogus booze charges billed to his AMEX card.

On Friday, Bolaris testified in Miami federal court that he didn’t have sex with them, though the thought crossed his mind after meeting the duo at the Delano Hotel in late March 2010. Bolaris, 55, was asked whether the B-girls suggested they go to his room at the Fontainebleau Hotel for a “threesome.”

“No, sir,” Bolaris told defense attorney Roderick Vereen. “In my right state of mind, I would not do that.” Vereen shot back: “What about in your intoxicated state of mind?”

Bolaris, who was fired last year from his job as a weatherman for FOX TV in Philadelphia, regaled a Miami jury with his tale of woe in the federal trial of four men who ran a ring of Russian-style clubs that fleeced Miami Beach tourists by deploying B-girls to seduce them.

The puppet master behind the alleged scam: admitted Russian mafioso Alec Simchuk, 46, a naturalized U.S. citizen who pleaded guilty to fraud and testified last month in the trial of his partners and associates.

In 2010, Miami Beach police and the FBI launched an undercover investigation into the B-girl network after Bolaris and other customers complained to their credit card companies about the outlandish bar tabs. A total of 18 defendants were charged in the fraud conspiracy.

Twelve defendants, mostly women, have since pleaded guilty and served short prison sentences.

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Dennis Quaid Runs Vegas

Dennis Quaid stars as Sheriff Ralph Lamb on the CBS drama Vegas and the actor dished to ET Canada about the romances and rivalries of the show.

PICS: What Happened in Vegas This Weekend

Inspired by the story of the real-life former Sheriff of Las Vegas, the show is set in the 1960s and follows Lamb as he battles notorious gangster Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis), who's planning a Sin City take over.

In the midst of all the blood sport and gun play, there's also a budding love story between Lamb and Katherine O'Connell (Carrie-Anne Moss).

"The two characters have known each other all their lives," said Quaid. "There's already a relationship there, but where it's going to wind up ... Who knows?"

VIDEO: Vegas Hearkens Back to Sin City in the '60s

Watch the video for more. Vegas airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on CBS.

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City loses in Black mail case

A state appeals court yesterday ordered the Bloomberg administration to turn over e-mails involving the appointment of failed schools chancellor Cathie Black, but city lawyers say they’ll keep fighting to keep them secret.

Black, 67, had a short, tumultuous reign as chancellor last year and was ousted after just 96 days on the job.

Then-Village Voice reporter Sergio Hernandez first asked to see the e-mails back in November 2010, submitting a Freedom of Information Act request for correspondence between Black, who was the head of Hearst Publishing at the time, and the mayor, as well as his office.

Robert Miller

Cathie Black

Hernandez also asked for any e-mails between City Hall and anyone using a hearst.com e-mail account during the time Black was nominated as chancellor and appointed to the job.

It’s unclear what’s in the e-mails. Hernandez told The Post yesterday that he believes they have to do with public-relations strategy over the controversial appointment of Black, who had no previous education experience.

The city refused to turn the information over, arguing that it would be an invasion of privacy.

Hernandez, who’s now a reporter for The Daily, filed suit to get the e-mails, and a Manhattan judge sided with him in November, ordering the city to turn the correspondence over within 15 days.

The city appealed, and in the ruling released yesterday, the state Appellate Division sided with Hernandez, finding that the information should be public.

City lawyer Susan Paulson said her department would ask for permission to appeal the case to the state’s highest court. Hernandez noted such requests are rarely granted — but the move does buy the city more time.

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