(CN) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office must turn over emails to a reporter about the hiring of former school chancellor Cathleen Black, a state appeals court ruled.
Black, former president of the Hearst organization, lasted just over three months running the city schools.
The mayor's office denied the request of Sergio Hernandez, who was interning for the Village Voice, in 2010.
Hernandez sued the city under the Freedom of Information Act, and the trial court ruled in the reporter's favor in November 2011.
The mayor's office appealed, but the Manhattan-based First Department New York Appellate Division ruled on Nov. 27 that it must release the pre-hiring correspondence with Black.
"The motion court properly directed respondent to disclose the redacted emails, which are not exempt from disclosure as inter- or intra-agency materials," the court ruled in an unsigned opinion.
"Black was not an agent of the city since she had not yet been retained as Chancellor. Further, Black was not acting simply as an outside consultant on behalf of the city, but was a private citizen with interests that may have diverged from those of the city," the justices added.
Hernandez, who now writes for The Daily, told the New York Post he believes the emails would deal with the public-relations strategy regarding Black's lack over previous education experience.
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