As In Funny Ha-Ha

A “spur of the moment, kind of a humorous kind of thing”:

An ambitious Queens councilman is raising eyebrows by appearing in paid ads for an auto dealership while sponsoring legislation urging New Yorkers to buy new cars.

“Are you going to buy a Paragon Honda hybrid?” WABC radio host Curtis Sliwa asked Councilman Hiram Monserrate in one of two ads on the station last month.

“Well, Curtis, the answer to that is absolutely yes,” Monserrate responded in the live spot. “My next car will be a hybrid, and I’ll be shopping at Paragon.”

. . .

The move is especially unusual because Monserrate is pushing a law that would benefit Paragon, lifting fees at parking meters and municipal lots for a year after drivers buy a hybrid vehicle. Monserrate announced the legislation at Paragon’s Woodside location in March.

Monserrate is also backing two Council resolutions asking the state for tax breaks for owners of hybrid vehicles.

. . .

Monserrate, a Democrat, said he was not paid to be in the ads. Campaign finance records showed no contributions to him from Paragon or its employees.

“I had the opportunity for 15 seconds to talk about a very important bill,” he said. He didn’t expect Sliwa to put him on the spot about shopping at Paragon, said Monserrate, who owns a traditional Honda Civic he did not buy at the dealership.

“It was spur of the moment,” he said. “It was kind of a humorous kind of thing.”

Earler: You Know What Else Protects The Environment? Taking The Bus, Subway Or — Wow, Just Think Of It! — Even Walking.