Business

OBSERVER DECKED

Longtime New York Observer Editor Peter Kaplan is exiting on June 1 amid rumors the newspaper’s owner, real estate scion Jared Kushner, is trying to unload the salmon-colored weekly.

Kaplan, who has served as the weekly’s editor for nearly 15 years, is leaving amid chatter that he had a falling out with Kushner, 28, though he downplayed that any rift existed.

“We worked as well together as a 55-year-old man and a 28-year-old man can,” said Kaplan. “We had an understanding and a mutual respect. I learned a lot from him and I hope he learned a lot from me.”

Kushner also dismissed the notion his relationship with Kaplan had broken down. “We had a good 2½ years together,” he said. “We decided about a month ago that it was time for him to move on. . . At the same time, I’ll really miss him. I have a tremendous amount of respect and love for him as an editor and as a person,” Kushner added.

Kushner also threw cold water on talk that he was trying to dump the money-losing newspaper, stressing that the conversations he’s had involved striking partnerships.

“We had conversations with Politico.com and the Huffington Post and many others about Web partnerships,” he said, but nothing else. “At the end of the day, we never discussed buying or selling the paper. I’ve had people call me about it from time to time, but I don’t entertain those calls.”

The weekly, which underwent a conversion from its original broadsheet format into a tabloid size after Kushner took over, has been a perennial money loser, with losses estimated at $2 million a year at the time that Kushner arrived. Estimates now peg annual losses at $4 million.

In November, all staffers making more than $40,000 a year were asked to take a 5 percent pay cut.

Kushner conceded the paper still loses money and acknowledged that he has no forecast for when it might turn a profit.

“We’re going to get there when we get there,” he said. “I’m committed to the paper for the long haul.”

Kaplan is a carryover from the days when the weekly was owned by Arthur Carter. He was the fourth editor of the paper, taking over in 1994 from Susan Morrison. He hired Candace Bushnell to write the paper’s “Sex and the City” column, which eventually evolved into a popular HBO series.

The editor insisted that his old contract with Carter was set to expire on June 1. “I just figured that’s it for me,” he said.

“I was very resolved when I went to see him,” said Kaplan. “It’s what I call a life choice. It’s the most important thing in the world for me beyond my family. What’s better than having your own little newspaper in New York City? Nothing.”

Some observers think it’s remarkable Kaplan lasted as long as he did in the new regime since most new owners, even those with no publishing experience, frequently want to put their own stamp on a publication.keith.kelly@nypost.com