By Philip Newman
Five Queens motorists are on the New York City Department of Finance’s list of the worst parking ticket scofflaws, including a Queens Village resident who owes more than $36,000.
Nobody from Queens came close to a Brooklyn man who topped the list and who the Finance Department says owes $66,995 or the runner-up, a Bronx motorist who the agency maintains owes $53,272.
The Finance Department issued what it calls its Parking Violation Individual Debtors Delinquent Disclosure List with a listing of last known addresses of those cited along with the number of unpaid parking tickets and amount of money owed.
Queens motorists on the list included Charlotte M. Miller of 94-57 221st St in Queens Village with 307 unpaid tickets for a total of $36,685; Sandra A. Phillips of 243-41 132nd Ave. in Rosedale with 234 unpaid tickets worth $32,233; Vincent Brown of 118-17 Union Turnpike in Forest Hills with 230 unpaid tickets for a total of $29,616; Joseph P. Clermont of 259-50 149th Road in Rosedale with 240 unpaid tickets worth $27,676 and Tamba Selly of 117-18 Atlantic Ave. in Richmond Hill with 159 unpaid tickets for a total of $21,670.
The Finance Department said each person on the list had been sent a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, asking them either to pay the parking tickets or contact the Department of Finance. Each letter was either delivered or delivery was refused, the agency said.
“The department undertook research before deciding that an individual should be listed,” the agency said. “Such research involved verifying the individual’s address through a secondary source (e.g., a credit bureau) and excluding individuals that have reported vehicles illegally registered under their names or that may be deceased or have filed for bankruptcy.”
“It is possible, despite the efforts by the Department of Finance, that a listed individual may not be subject to enforcement for parking violation judgments. However, according to our records, these individuals have not come forward with any such reasons,” the Finance Department said.
“The individuals appearing on this list may have been the subject of a previous enforcement action by the Department of Finance, such as the towing of a vehicle and/or the attempted restraint or seizure of a bank account,” the Finance Department said.
“However, any seized assets were not sufficient to satisfy the total judgment debt owed.”
The top two scofflaws on the list, Charles Rhodes of Brooklyn, and Jaime A. Ruiz of the Bronx, together owe more than $120,000, the agency list showed.
The Finance Department reminded motorists that parking tickets can be paid at neighborhood payment centers with credit cards, on the Internet or with a signed payment agreement and a down payment.
The agency added that diplomats have piled up the most tickets and debts in town. For instance, it said Egypt owes more than $1.6 million on nearly 16,000 parking tickets.
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 136..
