City councilman appears in auto ad

BY KIRSTEN DANIS
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

Friday, April 11th 2008, 4:00 AM

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 endorsement doesn't appear to break any laws, but it's rare for a sitting elected official to back a product or company in such a baldly commercial way.

"I don't think it's my job to shill for a company," said state Sen. John Sabini (D-Queens), whom Monserrate is expected to try to unseat this fall in what will be a closely watched race.

"There's a difference between supporting the Chamber of Commerce and Crazy Eddie. There's a fine line there," Sabini said.

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. One good government group called the ads "troubling."

"He shouldn't be using his public platform as an elected official to promote a private business," said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union.

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."

kdanis@nydailynews.com