Cannot answer your specific question, but we all should by now be aware that he cannot posses a handgun without the requisite NYS permit that is no good in NYC which has its own permit. Same goes for CCW permits.
Since his Florida permit would still be good for all the other places that recognize/honor it, I wonder about surrendering it in order to get a NYS permit that has little to no value outside the state. Unless it was clearly stated as a requirement for the NYS permit. Look below for guidance both official and from those that have been through the process:
http://troopers.ny.gov/firearms/ - the official rules from the official source
http://www.usacarry.com/new_york_concealed_carry_permit_information.html - non-official discussion
http://ocshooters.com/Hand/plnys.htm - more non-official discussion
stay safe.
And just to get it off my chest, a short rant about why OCDO has a rule about citing to authority - it's easy to do, it avoids substituting speculation for fact, and it helps folks make up their own minds rather than blindly following someone else's pronouncements.