Bklyn. Borough Hall plaza almost redone. Now it returns to its intended purpose: parking. @StreetsblogNYC pic.twitter.com/rYE6pgpGxF

— Brian Howald (@bdhowald) November 20, 2015

Last week reader Brian Howald called our attention to the vehicles parked on the newly refurbished surface of the plaza by Brooklyn Borough Hall. We checked in with Borough President Eric Adams’ office, and a spokesperson said that yes, the cars do belong to Adams and his staff.

He said the new granite surface can handle it:

Borough President Adams made sure when he funded the renovation of Borough Hall Plaza, one of his first priorities following his election, that the bluestone replacement would be a durable yet aesthetic material that could withstand the significant amount of civic and community activity, including vehicle use.

The borough president is missing an opportunity here. Illegal parking is a problem all over Downtown Brooklyn, largely because government workers endowed with placards park wherever they want. Between Borough Hall, the courts, and the preponderance of police, the neighborhood is littered with cars parked on pedestrian turf, obstructing fire hydrants, and hogging metered spots on commercial streets all day long.

Complacency breeds contempt for the rules. Bogus placards are everywhere, and legitimate placards are used in illegitimate ways. Just slap a piece of laminated paper on the dash and you can break all the parking laws known to man — even the ones that purportedly govern the placard system.

Eric Adams can’t snap his fingers and fix all of this, but he sets a powerful example. Former borough president Marty Markowitz was the living embodiment of official driving privileges that trump the law and public safety. He set the tone by parking on the Borough Hall plaza and speeding down Brooklyn streets with lights and sirens blaring for no apparent reason. What if the current borough president disavowed all that?

To change the culture of placards and official entitlement to park anywhere at any time, Brooklyn Borough Hall is a fine place to start.