Instead of coughing up the $10 to park in the stadium's lot like other fans, New York's Finest and Bravest are simply flashing their badges and leaving their cars on a nearby grassy knoll, a Post investigation has found.
An NYPD cop, acting more like a third-base coach, waves the officers through to the special lot - but civilians are given the heave-ho.
"It's kind of like a benefit," said Officer Bill Centronze, 45, flouting the parking fee before enjoying a recent afternoon game with his wife. "I'm not even a Mets fan."
The Post caught more than 300 cops, firefighters and other government officials from across the tri-state area parking on the knoll before a recent Sunday game. Most cars had city parking permits on the dashboard, as well as Patrolmen's Benevolent Association cards.
Among the city and regional departments on the knoll were state police; city housing police; Glen Cove, L.I., Fire Department; Mamaroneck Police; Transit Bureau; Smithtown, L.I., Fire Department; Sanitation Department and state Correction Department.
When a Post reporter tried to park on the knoll before another game, he was stopped by an officer wearing a nametag that read McCormick.
"Are you on the J?" the officer asked - meaning "on the job," slang for a cop or firefighter on the force.
"I'm not sure what that means," the reporter said.
"In that case, it means you can't park here," McCormick said.
City officials say the hill is reserved for police officers working at Shea.
Most officers did arrive in uniform - Mets uniforms, that is.
"If that's the case, we'll look into it," said a police spokesman.
Mayor Bloomberg, who has crusaded against abuses of parking privileges by city officials, also said he plans to investigate. "These are serious allegations that we will look into," said Bloomberg spokesman Robert Lawson.
The knoll is located off the stadium circle, between the Shea parking lot and the spaghetti of highways above Northern Boulevard. The lots around Shea Stadium are run by Central Parking System of New York and hold a total of about 10,000 parking spaces.
The company pays the city $3.2 million a year in rent, or a percentage of the gross should it exceed that amount. From the $10 fee, 93 cents goes to the city's parking tax.
According to the Parks Department, although the knoll is in the park, it falls under NYPD jurisdiction.
"It's supposed to be used by police and other officials strictly on official business," Parks spokeswoman Megan Sheekey said.
The Mets discourage tailgating at the ballpark, and the team's Web site says, "Consumption of alcoholic beverages is NOT permitted in Shea Stadium and the New York Police Department enforces this policy."
But on the grassy knoll, one group of cops tailgated behind a Chevy truck, throwing back beers before the game.
Neither the tailgaters nor the Mets would comment.
