This city politician has plenty of drive – he just has trouble parking.
Brooklyn Councilman Steve Levin, whose coveted official parking placard was pulled by the Bloomberg administration in April after he racked up $630 in unpaid summonses, is in a fine mess again.
Levin, a protégé of embattled Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez, has piled up 10 new tickets totaling $595 in fines and late fees since his placard was briefly taken away, according to the city’s records.
The placard, among the prized perks of city officials, was returned to Levin the same month – after he paid off eight delinquent parking tickets.
“When you settle all of your tickets, they allow you to renew your placard,” he told The Post. The pass entitles drivers to park almost anywhere, except at hydrants and bus stops.
Yet that still wasn’t good enough for Levin.
Of his 10 new tickets – all racked up since his parking placard was renewed – two were for being caught running red-light cameras. The rest were for illegal parking, with four during street-cleaning hours; three meter infractions; and one in a no-standing zone.
“Even the placard doesn’t get you out of tickets sometimes,” Levin acknowledged.
Since Levin now owes more than $350 in parking tickets, cops could tow his car or put a boot on it if they come across it.
On Sunday, he told a reporter he was going to pay off $460 in outstanding fines, including the ones for blowing through red lights.
“I’m supportive of red-light cameras. I’m happy to pay it,” Levin said, adding that he would fight some of the others.
“It would be exceedingly difficult to get around my district without a car,” he noted.
The Democrat, whose 33rd District includes parts of Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope and Boerum Hill, settled the first bill only in April after being contacted by The Post before it reported that he was one of three council members – along with Debi Rose (D-SI) and Ruben Willis (D-Bronx) – who would not be getting their “official business” city placards renewed because they had unsettled summonses.
Levin has had notoriously bad luck on the car front. Earlier this year, his Honda was stolen. After it was recovered, one of the side mirrors was busted, resulting in two summonses.
Many of Levin’s recent tickets have been for illegally parking outside his Atlantic Avenue office. Since he joined the council in 2010, his car has been towed twice for being in a strictly enforced 4 p.m.-to- 7 p.m. no-parking zone.
{NY Post/Matzav.com Newscenter}
