It’s Good To Be King

At least he doesn’t “always” use it to park illegally:

Former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, who left public office more than 41/2 years ago, regularly uses an NYPD placard to park in illegal spots outside his private law office, the Daily News has found.

Last Wednesday, in the morning and the afternoon, The News spotted Vallone’s Cadillac DeVille parked in an illegal zone near his Astoria, Queens, office.

The sign read “No Parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday,” but an NYPD parking placard — a perk granted to Vallone by the city — protected him from getting a ticket.

“I try to use it [the placard] with discretion, but there possibly are times when I don’t,” said Vallone, who served as the Council’s speaker for more than a decade before term limits forced him from office in 2001.

“I don’t always park illegally,” he added. “I assure you of that.”

Vallone, 71, said he currently serves as an informal adviser to the mayor and the Council, but he acknowledged that he uses the placard for private reasons when parking outside his law office.

When told about complaints from people in the neighborhood who vehemently object to Vallone getting the special placard, the former speaker said, “I can understand that.”

“I do make make mistakes and I’ll try to correct it. I’m sorry,” he said.

But this is actually a time-honored tradition — sort of the way former Presidents get office space and a secret service detail:

Paul Browne, the NYPD’s top spokesman, said it’s the department’s “longstanding practice” to provide special parking placards to former mayors, former police commissioners and former City Council chiefs.

Browne said the placards expire annually, but he said these former officials are entitled to the special perk for life.

“It’s been the custom followed for many years,” he said, adding, “I don’t know the precise history.”