Metro

Quinn a parking ‘valet’ for Mike

Parking meters and their tickets. (
)

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who many insiders believed was secretly supporting Mayor Bloomberg’s re-election, did a special favor for Hizzoner before Election Day, The Post has learned.

Quinn (D-Manhattan) stalled a bill giving motorists a five-minute grace period at electronic parking meters so the mayor wouldn’t be forced to veto it and earn the wrath of voters, sources said. “Quinn held it as a favor to the mayor,” said one insider.

Quinn made a late, largely insignificant endorsement of Democratic nominee Bill Thompson for mayor and many insiders believed she really wanted Bloomberg, with whom she has a good relationship, back for a third term.

The grace period would apply only at muni-meters, which issue paper receipts that motorists display on dashboards to indicate how much parking time they’ve purchased. Motorists couldn’t be ticketed until after more than five minutes had elapsed past the end of their parking time.

The legislation was first introduced Jan. 7. After one hearing on Feb. 25, it was held over.

Bloomberg made no secret that he had strong reservations. “All that would happen, if you change the time, people would wait another five minutes and ask for a grace period,” he said at the time. “And pretty soon, you would have no ability to collect parking-meter payments.”

But with 15 sponsors, the bill seems to certain to pass and survive the mayor’s veto.

“It may be more symbolic than anything else,” said Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens), one of the sponsors. “This is sending a shot across the administration’s bow — we will not put up with overly aggressive parking enforcement.”

The city collected $596 million in parking fines last year and is projecting a $686 million haul this year, up 15 percent.

Maria Alvarado, Quinn’s spokeswoman, insisted the grace-period bill and other parking measures being voted on Monday went through the normal process. Mayoral aides declined comment.

david.seifman@nypost.com