STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – It’s a good illustration of why any crackdown on parking placard abuse is doomed.

The NYPD had a flag football championship game in upper Manhattan on Sunday.

In order for participants to park near the venue, on the grounds of Columbia University, “no parking” signs were placed throughout the neighborhood days ahead of time. Neighborhood folks who ignored the signs got their cars towed.

When all was said and done, 30 cars were “relocated” so NYPD flag footballers could park. Four blocks were apparently taken up by those at the game.

Nobody whose car got moved received a ticket, but residents still had to find their vehicles, which were dumped on various streets throughout the neighborhood.

Must be nice, having the ability to clear out a whole neighborhood and make it your own private parking lot. For an event that has nothing to do with official business.

Those taking part in the game who have official parking placards in their cars could have parked on any street in the area with no problem. But, no. They had to be within close walking distance of the venue.

Some of those in the area for the game didn’t even have proper placards in their cards, according to media reports. They just had handwritten notes on the dashboards to let people know that they were taking part in the event.

You feel that, right, Staten Islanders? How many times have we seen illegally parked cars with official shirts or orange vests or even just business cards or uniform patches thrown on the dashboard in lieu of an actual placard?

NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill defended the football tow job, saying that the game was a special event. It was actually a gross misuse of police power. A City Hall rep told the New York Post that there is no law that allows streets to be blocked off for private parking like this.

Staten Island has its own parking nightmare in St. George, where official cars take up on-street parking all day long, blocking access to metered spaces. Official cars park next to hydrants. Or in crosswalks. Or on sidewalks. Or take up actual traffic lanes.

The problem is particularly acute around the 120th Precinct stationhouse, but it’s really a problem all over the town. And it’s not just NYPD who are doing the parking. It’s court personnel. It’s employees of the various agencies in Borough Hall. Other members of officialdom. Other neighborhood workers.

If you want to bounce down to St. George to visit the library, have a bite to eat or do your own official business, good luck finding a spot for your car. You can park in the garage near the new state Supreme Court building and walk into the heart of town.

It’s just as bad on the weekends. On parts of Montgomery Avenue, parking is reserved for some official cars during the weekdays. But the vehicles remain in the spots on the weekends too, depriving residents and visitors of parking.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has pledged to crack down on placard abuse, but when was the last time you saw an illegally parked official car, NYPD or otherwise, get towed? Enforcement got even tougher when de Blasio gave just about every Department of Education employee a placard.

Working for the city doesn’t entitle you to free parking. It doesn’t entitle you to park illegally. It certainly doesn’t allow you to clear out whole neighborhoods for your own purposes.

When is the city really going to do something about it all?