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Mayoral Aide Owes Nearly $900 in Unpaid Parking Tickets

By James Fanelli | October 14, 2014 7:25am
 Rachel Noerdlinger, (left) the chief of staff to first lady Chirlane McCray, owes $900 in parking tickets.
Rachel Noerdlinger, (left) the chief of staff to first lady Chirlane McCray, owes $900 in parking tickets.
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DNAinfo/Colby Hamilton

NEW YORK CITY — Rachel Noerdlinger, the embattled aide to Mayor Bill de Blasio, can't seem to find a place to park her car — legally.

Noerdlinger owes $875.61 on nine parking tickets her Mercedes-Benz got in the past year in The Bronx and Manhattan. All except one of the summonses were issued since she was appointed chief of staff to de Blasio’s wife, city Finance Department records show.

Noerdlinger — a former spokeswoman for the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network — has a $180.61 judgment against her for the oldest ticket, which was issued on Nov. 7, 2013, when her black 2004 Mercedes-Benz was parked in front of a fire hydrant near NAN’s Harlem headquarters, according to records.

The Finance Department said Monday that Noerdlinger has set up a payment plan to settle the judgment. Since Noerdlinger hasn't completed all payments, the judgment remains open, according to the Finance Department.

Noerdlinger racked up eight other parking infractions between March 4 and Aug. 29, during her time as chief of staff to Chirlane McCray where she earns a salary of $170,000 a year.

Seven of the violations — ranging from a $45 fine for an unpaid muni-meter to a $115 summons for parking in a bus lane to a $125 penalty for parking in a crosswalk — were issued between March and May.

Generally, the owner of a car has 100 days to pay or contest a ticket before a judgment is issued, according to city rules. City sheriffs can place a boot lock on a car with more than $350 in judgments for parking or camera violations.

Finance Department records show that hearings were held on five of the tickets issued in March, April and May. The Finance Department did not immediately have information on two other summonses issued in May and one in August.

The two tickets from May were issued more than 100 days ago and, if they weren't contested, they would become judgments.

The mayor's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Noerdlinger’s car is registered in New Jersey, where she lives with her son and her longtime boyfriend, Hassaun McFarlan.

The city granted Noerdlinger a residency waiver, allowing her to stay in Edgewater, N.J., after she cited the hardship relocating would place on her son, who was recovering from injuries he suffered in two 2012 car accidents.

DNAinfo New York first reported that McFarlan has a long rap sheet, serving time in prison for manslaughter and drug trafficking, and has ranted on Facebook about police officers.

In 2011 he was arrested for pot possession after driving on the wrong side of the road in Noerdlinger’s car with her in the front passenger seat and an unidentified minor in the back seat.

The arrest report noted that the car reeked of pot smoke. Noerdlinger was issued a summons for allowing McFarlan — who at the time had no driver's license — to drive her car. 

Noerdlinger’s car trouble doesn’t end with the tickets or allowing McFarlan behind the wheel.

In September 2013, she caused between $2,500 to $3,000 in damage when she ripped the hose and front display off an Edgewater gas station pump when she drove away in her Mercedes with the nozzle still in her car, police records show.