A city attorney blasted The Plaza hotel for using “red herrings” such as traffic, noise and historical import in its legal quest to remove a bulky bike-share rack near its entrance.

“It is clear that this proceeding is motivated instead purely by The Plaza hotel’s aesthetic concerns,” Nicholas Ciappetta, a lawyer for the city, said in a Jan. 28 court filing revealed Tuesday. “In other words, The Plaza hotel does not want the station anywhere in its vicinity,” Ciappetta added, asking a judge to toss the “meritless” case.

Ciappetta called the high-priced hotel “self-serving” for trying to oust one of the city’s most popular kiosks.

The rack, stretching the full block between West 58th and 59th streets on the east side of landmarked Grand Army Plaza, is in the top 10 percent of most-used Citi Bike locations, clocking 67,000 trips since last summer.

Ciappetta countered the hotel’s arguments, noting that the street sees only 265 cars at rush hour, compared with 1,000 to 3,000 on nearby avenues, and calls a historian who said the Citi Bike rack is “visibly jarring” a “purported expert” expressing a “mere opinion.”

Steven Sladkus, attorney for the luxury hotel and condos, told The Post when he first filed the case last fall, “The public should enjoy unobstructed or unblemished landmarks. This isn’t just for the ‘wealthy’ in The Plaza. This is for the benefit of everyone. Don’t mar it.” He declined to comment on the city’s response.