Hector Colon works as a maintenance supervisor at a gated community in Ronkonkoma, New York. It’s a quiet, relatively secluded area about 40 miles from the Big Apple. He rarely visits the city, owing to a lack of urgency and the desire to avoid parking tickets.
In May 2024, he decided to sell his 1999 Ford F-150 and downsize to something smaller. He had done everything in writing—he had written a bill of sale, kept copies of the release of liability for the DMV, surrendered his plates, and canceled his insurance for it.
In August, Colon was shocked when he received a $127.72 parking ticket in downtown New York City. Soon after, nearly ten more tickets were issued. Then he received a notice from the city stating that he owed nearly $1,000.
Colon, a diabetic, claims $1,000 is prohibitively expensive, especially given the cost of his medication.
“I can’t afford $1,000 that I could be using for my bills for something that I didn’t even do,” he shared with CBS.
So, Colon went to court to contest the tickets… And lost?
He gathered a large amount of paperwork to prove he had sold the truck months before the citations arrived, confident it would be a simple victory. He was wrong.
A judge denied his claim and declared him guilty, holding him accountable for the tickets.
“They, basically, said that it was insufficient evidence,” he told me. He and his wife felt defeated and decided to purchase some of the tickets to avoid any additional fines or legal penalties.
“My wife paid about, I would say, about $600 worth of it,” he told me. “She was like, ‘You know what, let me just pay some of them, so they don’t garnish his check. She was just afraid it would be more of a hindrance for me.”
Someone connected him to an advocate who could help
A DMV spokesperson told reporters that the city does not use real-time registration data as required, instead relying on outdated information when issuing tickets.
Several city social media posts mentioned Anthony Tse, a Parking Summons Advocate, and claimed his office could assist.
A reporter introduced Colon to Tse, who was eager to assist. He is confident that he can not only have the charges dismissed, but also get Colon’s wife a refund.
“He says he’s going to submit all the tickets, even the ones that I paid, and they should, once it’s dismissed, I should receive a refund,” says Colon.
