Court officers oversee parking and pedestrian activity at controversial parking lot.

It's not just judges who are parking in the controversial judicial parking lot in a downtown Brooklyn park, the Daily News has learned.

Secretaries, court staffers and judicial hearing officers also are parked inside Columbus Park, a recent Daily News survey found.

Law clerks who chauffeur their judgebosses to work also have nabbed the coveted spots, the News found.

"It certainly shoots a hole in the argument that they need this parking lot for judges' security," said Transportation Alternatives spokesman Wiley Norvell of the Civil Court judges' stance they need to park near the old courthouse next to Borough Hall where they preside over volatile cases. "It's a job perk."

The News' findings came as judges threatened to sue the city over its plans to oust some of the cars from the lot and turn it back into a pedestrian plaza. Work is slated to begin as early as next month.

"It shows there is a lot of room for belt-tightening there," added Brooklyn Heights Association Executive Director Judy Stanton, who has pushed to get all 50 or so cars out of the park.

In 1999, judges allegedly promised to move their cars to a garage at the new courthouse at 330 Jay St. when it opened in 2005.

But they have more recently argued it is unsafe and inconvenient for judges who preside over divorce and foreclosure cases to park in the new Criminal Court garage and make the six-minute, two-block trek to Civil Court.

"They can't walk two blocks to a garage, but they all walk to Queen for lunch," quipped one insider, referring to a well-known Court St. Italian restaurant.

Among The News' findings from its March 7 review are:

Nearly 40% of the 44 cars - 17 - did not belong to judges.

Three cars belonged to judges' secretaries.

Another five cars were law clerks'; while two more were driven by high-level courthouse administrators.

Four cars were listed to retired judges now working as judicial hearing officers or court attorney referees.

Two cars belonged to court officers assigned to watch over the lot. One car's owner could not be identified.

Administrative Judge Abraham Gerges defended the findings, insisting the fact that nonjudges were parking in the lot was not the security concern.

"My argument about security extends to everyone. I don't want to exclude anyone," said Gerges, adding that judicial hearing officers and even secretaries or law clerks could be confronted by someone unhappy with a ruling.

Gerges also insisted judges are allowed to let staffers park in their spot when they are not using it.

He said some staffers are allowed to park there because they are handicapped or because they chauffeur judges to work.

"The judges have been abiding by the policy," said Gerges, who said he parks in the lot and walks the two blocks to criminal court on Jay Street when he hears cases there.

"No judge has done something wrong."