Why would anyone want a license plate depicting that ugly replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge? You want to put the image of a bridge on the license plate? Try the Brooklyn Bridge or any of the other East River bridges.
15
I'm sorry can someone help me? Where is the Cuomo bridge? Is that the span that most folks i know call the Tappan Zee Bridge?
11
I can hardly wait to be elected governor so I can change the name of this hideous bridge with the C-name to Tappan Zee. Next, the Triboro Bridge gets its real name back. Then we do some fracking on the NY-PA border, make some money and produce energy. Then we build the natural gas tunnel between NY and NJ. Finally, we do not shut Indian Point until we have a suitable replacement ready to go. And that is just for starters.
22
They all stink. Low level graphic design. Boooo!!!
23
If a bridge is to appear on the New York license plate let it be the beautiful and inspiring Brooklyn Bridge.
15
@Allen How about the Bridge Over Troubled Waters ?
5
A political survey rigged? Surely you jest.
11
When the City of Thunder Bay was formed in 1970 through the merger of the cities of Fort William, and Port Arthur and some neighbouring townships, they held a referendum on a new name - Lakehead, "the" Lakehead, or Thunder Bay. Just 'Lakehead' should have won - the longtime reference... and of course, it didn't because the vote was split... A truly Canadian controversy...
3
The comment that the liberty torch looks like someone’s legs sticking out of a trash can is absolutely correct! I went back and had a look, now I cannot keep from laughing. I may have to vote for that one, it would be nice to have something to giggle about when trapped in a traffic jam.
7
Such a great amount of political energy used on an issue of minimal importance! New technology probably does require new license plates. The older blue and white ones that are in good condition most likely are read as easily as the proposed ones, so a compromise could be made for plates in good shape. So compromise and move on to the many more important issues that need to be solved for the people of New York.
3
What is with “Excelsior”? And the bridge design is bland and undistinctive.
4
@Alexandra Hamiltont What is with your question? What are you TRYING to say?
I grew up in a rural area near Syracuse. I now live in the Seattle area, but if I could vote for one of these plates, it would be the one with the waterfall and trees included in the design. I always prefer to see Nature represented. Second choice would be the first plate. I would certainly not vote at all for a design representing some random bridge.
5
@P H Okay. Thanks. We were wondering which you might prefer.
5
@kenneth Tell us how you really feel.
3
@kenneth ... Yes, you're welcome.
4
I'm not from New York, but I can say that I can understand why some feel this was rigged. Statue of Liberty as a feature of four designs and a bridge most people outside of New York wouldn't know as the fifth (Thought it was the Golden Gate for a second.)
And still there are more recognizable features of the city, Empire State Building, Central Park, the Twin Towers Monument. More potential, but it's an opportunity lost for now.
Still even with the rigging I doubt the Bridge will win.
5
@Ryan Thoms "Thought it was the Golden Gate for a second."
Well, if Ryan thought that, then clearly most Americans would think that. How could they be any more aware than Ryan?
2
I'm not from New York, but I can say that I can understand why some feel this was rigged. Statue of Liberty as a feature of four designs and a bridge most people outside of New York wouldn't know as the fifth (Thought it was the Golden Gate for a second.)
And still there are more recognizable features of the city, Empire State Building, Central Park, the Twin Towers Monument. More potential, but it's an opportunity lost for now.
Still even with the rigging I doubt the Bridge will win.
3
I have the old blue and white plates that were directly before the orange retro ones. I've always coveted the orange ones - they had a nice nod to history and were colorful and simple - but couldn't see spending extra money when renewing my registration to get one. Now I'll never have those and be forced to replace my current ones with one of these banal designs. If you had told me I HAD to get an orange retro one, I wouldn't have been that upset even if it also cost $25. But paying for one of these has me none too happy, especially when my old plates are perfectly fine and basically look like one of these options.
12
At least none of the plate designs feature “ . . . StateName.com” Do the states with promotional websites on their plates actually think people are moved to visit a website because they read it on a plate?
2
@pb Ask them They have the statistics. But I'd guess there's probably some benefit to it, if only to get some people to think about a visit.
And who knows?...if pb himself asks and thinks about it, there might even be one more tourist to come out of all this. You'd certainly be welcome.
Pretty silly to consider anything with the Statute Of [Non-] Liberty on it since under Trump that would be false advertising. Better to wait until voters Dump Trump and return some semblance of liberty to America, i.e., make America great as it was before Trump and his cronies destroyed it or, if Trump wins, to put the Trump Wall on the license plate.
5
@Bruce We shouldn't do anything to make the US look great until the DT is gone? You can't be serious !
2
There is no reason for a wholesale replacement of plates - not at the inflated rates being charged. This is simply one more way government extracts fees from citizens - fees that are far in excess of the supposed 'service' provided.
Government fees and costs have increased at a rate that exceeds inflation - while salaries (for most workers) have fallen behind. NY State in particular seems to make NO effort to keep costs down with countless well paid, minimal work political positions.
In addition to the plate fee, how much money was spent on 'designing' all these choices?
Over the course of my 60 years I have seen registration fees go up by a factor of at lest 10 times. ALL motor vehicle violation fines have gone up astronomically - and it IS all about revenue when you watch the 'horse trading' that goes on when one appears in court to plea Not Guilty. As long as you pay the money you'll get a downgraded violation. Tolls everywhere have gone up obscenely - in a way that discourages travel, yet roads and bridges are in horrid shape.
Inspection fees have increased by a factor of 10 as well. If a plate is damaged or unreadable, it should be replaced. If not, why force it to be replaced? IF you are determined to replace plates, charge COST
3
Curious that all five showed things are associated with NYC or, in the case of the bridge, its close environs. As this is a statewide plate, couldn't Cuomo have at least included something from upstate to show that he at least recognizes that he is also governor of it.
38
@Steve
did you miss the one on the bottom right that has both Niagara Falls and the Statue of Liberty? it's probably the most 'representative' of the whole state.
Personally i think all of them are examples of cluttered, bad design. i have a soft spot for the current 'retro' looking plates, myself.
52
@Lu
That was Niagara Falls? It was so small and so out of the context of the surrounding area that I didn't recognize it. I thought it was some of the water flowing out of the sewers in Manhattan after a heavy rain.
30
@Steve You mean the Tappan Zee isn't upstate?
10
To be fair, bridges and tunnels are a pretty important feature of New York City, (but only the city). And if you think of an iconic bridge in NY, wouldn't it be the Brooklyn Bridge? I suppose you'd want to highlight the fancy new one, but that's a tough sell as it doesn't really carry any attachment for most NYers.
64
@Barwon Actually, the one that came to mind first was the GW Bridge.
1
The solution is obvious. All vehicles in New York have to be inspected annually for safety purposes. Just make having a legible license plate part of that inspection, along with tires with minimum tread depth, functional lights, etc. There are plates (like mine) that are more than 10 years old and are fine. There are plates that are less than 10 years old that are not. Don't base it on age, base it on actual condition, checked by a mechanic at the annual inspection.
155
@HP. A good idea, alas, it makes sense, so has no chance to be implemented by Emperor Cuomo.
22
@HP Not to seem negative, but I think a tiny bit of the state's attention to the plates has something to do with making sure the fees are paid and up to date.
5
Cuomo is a self serving politician of the lowest order. New Yorkers do not need new license plates, despite Cuomo's rhetoric. This is all a scam to extort more money from already overtaxed drivers. I registered a used car purchase at DMV yesterday; the number of fees and paperwork required were outlandish. Now Cuomo wants to gouge us further with new license plate costs, one of which glorifies his re-naming of the Tappan Zee bridge for his own father. Disgusting.
72
"Excelsior" -- ? Obviously because New Yorkers believe they excel in everything; but, really? Oh, so self-aggrandizing! Webster's dictionary says excelsior is "fine, curled wood shavings, used especially for packaging fragile items."
The old "Empire State' logo was far better so why mess with a good thing? But that's so old hat, right?
Disclosure... I was born and raised in NYC, haven't lived there in 56 years, but still a NYer.
4
"Cuomo’s ... inability to admit error and his propensity for self-promotion." Remind you of anyone?
2
Who is the bigger joke - deBlasio or Cuomo?
5
@Grace You forgot to mention Grace.
Why the fuss??? Everyone thinks of the Cuomo Bridge when they think of NY right!?
Come on. I could see maybe the Brooklyn Bridge.
1
these plates are all hideous. i hate the money grab. i hate the new names for bridges. keep them as is, tappan zee, triborough. go back to the orange/blue or blue/orange plates.
this is just ridiculous.
83
@Lola Franco Why does there need to be any picture? Does anyone really think the picture will lure more tourists to NYState just to see that "icon"?
Without that license plate, nobody anywhere would remember there's a Statue of Liberty at all?
So, actually, maybe he's got a point. Without a license plate featuring the Cuomo Bridge, perhaps nobody would immediately think of his family at the mere mention of New York.
4
@Lola Franco The orange & blue are ugly enough that I've held onto the previous white and blue ones for as long as possible. I like the new options better and voted for one of the Statue of Liberty ones.
7
Let’s require all yacht and big sailboat owners to change their plates every five years at a cost of $1,000. That should raise lots of funds, including tickets and fees for outdated plates. It could ease congestion on the waterways if fewer of those boats of the 1% were out there.
Of course, the real solution is to institute truly progressive taxation in New York. I urge everyone to look at NY’s tax tables. See https://www.tax-brackets.org/newyorktaxtable/married-filing-jointly
Working class and the well off pay very similar percentages of tax — around 6-7%. Even the very well off pay taxes at similar rates. One bracket for married couples filing jointly, e.g., runs from $323,201 to $2,155,350 — FAR TOO LARGE — with everyone in there paying only 6.85%; which is virtually the same rate as those from $43,000 to $161,551 who pay 6.33%! Those from $27,901 to $43,000 pay 5.9% — in other words, around 6%, too. That’s essentially a flat tax and is outrageous in a progressive, blue, Democratic State!
Restructuring the tax tables would raise far more money than nickel-and-diming ordinary New Yorkers with spurious license plate fees!
9
Hey, at least they're pretending to ask the public in New York. Up here in Rhode Island, possible redesigns are being kept secret under a "work products" exemption from the state public records law. There seems to be no purpose to the change other than to squeeze $8 out of us for new plates and make us wait in line at the DMV. For the latest, see https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190822/ri-senator-fumes-over-governors-ditching-of-plan-to-replace-wave-license-plates
[[Republicans, who have been shunted to the sidelines in Albany after disastrous electoral results last year, have called it “PlateGate.”]]
PlateGate? Really?
That kind of bold thinking is probably why they were shunted aside last year.
2
@Third.Coast "Republicans, who have been shunted to the sidelines ...."
I don't really believe the electorate thought of it as "shunting."
It was simply voter preference.
New York plates should be orange. Period.
This is the iconic state plate that goes back decades.
14
I smell a ripe case-study for ranked-choice voting...
1
Wait, are they getting rid of the gold and black plates? Why didn't I get to vote on this? Keep the old plates, what a huge mistake!
5
One of Cuomo's main false claims was that new plates were required for automated toll plazas, and thus had to be dark letters on white background. But the Tappan Zee plate with its busy graphic background is actually the worst according to that criterion. Mr. Cuomo has more in common with our current POTUS than he'd like to admit: bullying and punching back when caught in a lie.
6
Absolutely it's rigged.
Divide and conquer.
Votes will be split among the Statues of Liberty, and therefore the Tappan Zee Bridge will win.
I'd be amenable to letting the Tappan Zee win, but not the Mario.
Sick of Democrats having nothing better to do than waste hundreds of millions of dollars naming and changing the signage of all our bridges and tunnels on behalf of their political cronies.
Oh, and the David Dinkins Municipal Building.
Makes me want to vomit -- but not as much as the Donald J. Trump signs on the Taconic.
5
@B. who divided what?
"Who?" is a good question. Whoever wants us New Yorkers to purchase license plates featuring the Tappan Zee Bridge.
I remember when the old bridge was new. It was a thrill to descend almost to river level on the Hudson's west side. "The car is going to turn into a submarine now!" my father joked, and I believed him -- the first time, anyway.
2
Simply remove the Bridge from the selection.
1
The notion that older plates have to be replaced because they are illegible is absurd. I've seen the newer gold plates so poorly made that the top coating has worn away, revealing the metal underneath. Meanwhile, the old Liberty plates, some of which are nearly 20 years old are as readable as the day they were stamped. So what happens when they make the new plates in the same substandard way as the blue and gold plates? Do we get refunded for poor workmanship?
10
@Nicole YES!! I've seen the same. These yellow and blue plates we have now are of terrible quality. I've seen many peeling. But the old blue and white ones are perfectly fine.
2
FWIW my vote went to the design with Niagara Falls on the left and the Statue of Liberty scrunched between EXCELSIOR and the NYS skyline. It mimics the recent blue and white plate which I thought was perfectly fine but then they had to change to a retro-ish orange and blue (or is it black?)
2
In the great state of Alabama drivers can select from a huge range of license plate designs. So many, in fact, that it's hard to know what the default design is!
Are you an alumnus or employee of University X? There's a license plate for that. There are dozens to choose from. Most of which are state schools — but I don't know if you have to show your diploma or ID card when you apply.
Are you proud of your career in elementary school education? There's a plate for that.
Do your favor breast-cancer research funding? There's a pink-ribbon design for that.
Are you an environmentalist/conservationist who supports protecting wildlife diversity in the state's rivers and streams? There's a nature-scene plate for that.
Do you oppose abortion? "Choose Life" is the plate design for you.
Do you love music? There's a plate for that.
Are you proud of Huntsville's role in Project Apollo and manned exploration of space? There's a plate for that, too.
And on & on & on.
Each selection has a small additional fee, and in at least some (most? all?) cases that fee helps support the cause or institution represented by your chosen design.
All this in a state with a population of 5-million, whose biggest claims to fame are a deeply ingrained culture of political corruption, institutional racism still being fought-against, and NCAA Division I football champions (including Joe Namath).
As a native New Yorker, I lay down a challenge: "Surely y'all can do better!"
5
@A. Reader We have other choices besides these 5.
Here's the official list, beginning, of course with
"I love NY" :
https://dmv.ny.gov/plates/plates
1
Having made my way from near the Tappan Zee Bridge (yes, that one) across the Triborough Bridge (it's still the TBTA, not the RFKBTA), not far from the 59th Street/Queensborough/Feelin' Groovy (everything but Edward I. Koch) Bridge, I saw the traffic advisory sign that noted the travel time to the HLC. It took much head-scratching and researching to finally figure out that HLC stood for Hugh L. Carey, for whom the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was renamed. When did that happen? And why? Oh, yes, he was governor and Mario (don't forget the M.) Cuomo was his lieutenant.
15
@Perfect Gentleman The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was renamed in 2012.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/battery-tunnel-renamed-new-york-governor-hugh-carey-article-1.1189850
2
@Perfect Gentleman Next time you're tempted to do all that head scratching, keep your hands on the steering wheel instead.
@Lifelong New Yorker - You're apparently the only person who noticed.
1
These plate designs are all pretty bad. And the bridge one is absurd.
13
@Randy Bowman I didn't know what bridge it was at first. I had to really think about it. :-P
3
I do some design work myself, and from that perspective -- these are awful.
The Liberty flame one is the worst -- not just cluttered, but without a close look to figure it out, the center design element looks like somebody diving into a trash can, legs waving in the air.
Sometimes a detail just isn't the right answer.
15
I want to see legislation passed returning the names of all 3 structures recently named after politicians back to their former names: the Ed Koch Tunnel, the RFK Bridge and the Mario Cuomo Bridge. And it will be a disgrace if the license showing the Cuomo bridge wins the contest.
13
@Long Islander It's the Ed Koch Bridge, formerly known as the Queensboro Bridge and/or (what I call it) the 59th Street Bridge. I had to laugh when this latest renaming was under discussion and the then Borough President Scott Stringer announced his support for renaming it after Koch because as Stringer put it: "This bridge has an identity crisis." So, his solution was to give the bridge a third name. There, fixed it! *eye roll*
6
One question this raises is how much money is not being collected by automated toll readers? Hopefully the Times can investigate. Is the Governor's comment that new plates are needed to improve toll collections an indication a relatively large amount is not being charged (system can't read plates) or not collected (deadbeats)?
2
@Andrew if you've seen how poorly made the blue and gold plates are, probably a lot of people are beating the tolls.
1
I dislike governor Cuomo so much that there is literally only one reason I vote for him: he is not a republican. That is a sad state of things in today's politics in which you are forced to vote for someone who is disgraceful just so someone who is even worse won't come to power.
11
@GC Sad state of affairs, yes. New, no.
2
@GC Not just a matter of "today's politics." GC. People have been saying that since Hamilton and Jefferson fought it out. But it was still better than living under King George.
As a New York State resident, my biggest complaint is that a design featuring the Twin Towers was not included.
4
@michaelscody It doesn't have to be included everywhere and in everything. And yes, I remember 9/11.
4
@michaelscody That's your biggest complaint? You're so lucky.
I just want the plate with the fewest possible conflicting color schemes for the color of my car.
So Tappan Zee Cuomo Bridge got my vote.
Why on earth would anyone vote for a random bridge that has no visual interest anyway?
10
Keep the gold and black one! Why wasn't that an option? I do not believe for one second that it is not legible.
6
@sleeve I've seen so many of the blue and gold become gunmetal gray because the top coating of the plate wears off. They are shoddy and not made to last like the Liberty plates from earlier in the 2000s. I say they should let you keep whatever plate you want, as long as it can be read.
5
For a fee you can keep the black and mustard plate, from what I understand. I intend to avail myself of that option.
These white license plates are insipid looking.
4
If Cuomo is wasting taxpayer money it certainly isn't on top-rate graphic designers. Each one of these options looks like it was pasted together in photoshop in 5 minutes time using free clip art from the internet. Just awful!
9
This is a great example of when one should use ranked-choice voting.
6
Can anyone explain why it is necessary to have illustrations on our license plates. Do they make people want to travel to New York? Do they make us proud of where we live? I don't think so. In fact by putting pictures on the plate they force us into the subjectivity of liking or disliking them. That makes us care about them more than we should. License plates have a function and should be designed as such. Now, as for the design of the proposed plates, they have all the qualities of bad design such as the over used ruled lines; the old tired typography; uninspiring colors; arbitrary clutter. Remember that New York is home to some of the most accomplished and honored graphic designers in the world but not at the DMV. Lastly, I doubt if most people know that "excelsior" is from the state seal and it means "superior quality" and it also means "packing material". So much for the wordsmiths at DMV. But fear not, if they use the word on the plates and you are traveling on one of our worst pot-holed highways there will be a car ahead of you to remind you that New York represents superior quality.
8
They should have called that bridge the Pete Seeger Bridge. I would have happily voted for and paid $25 for that plate.
10
@Betsy S. I would too - and I don't have a car. :-)
5
@Betsy S. I might also. But then the kids would be asking, "What's a Pete Seeger, Gramps?"
1
Interesting how surveys work. And most are designed this way - to get the desired outcome. This is why poll results mean so little.
5
"Mr. Cuomo said the new plates were necessary to “eliminate legibility issues” with older plates when detected by red light cameras, cashless tolling systems and other devices."
Really. If Mr. Cuomo wants to ensure readability for red light cameras (which are criminally rationed to NYC by the NYS Legislature) he should push for enforcement of the law that prohibits obscuring the plate from these cameras. There is a multitude of cars with thick rubber "frames" around their plates just for this purpose. There are also many plates with tinted plastic covering them for the same reason. And there is no enforcement.
I don't care what the plate's picture is or how much the fee is to obtain them but I do care about drivers who blow through red lights and speed through city streets.
6
This is NOT a New York City license plate. It is a New York State license plate.
One more lonely cry from upstate. Adirondack peaks, Finger Lakes, Catskills, salmon fishing, dairy farms, vast woodlands, vineyards, wildlife, skiing, canal paths ..... We have so much brag-worthy beauty in this state--the entire state--why are we stuck on a bridge and a statue (that is in a neighboring state)?
Hello?
21
@AL One of the choices includes Niagara Falls, which is the one I voted for because the rest were too NYC-centric. It's in the bottom row on the right.
5
@Lifelong New Yorker Oh. Okay.
What about the Niagara Falls or Buffalo city hall? New York State is much more that just the city. The rest if the state is again neglected by the city-centric narcicism of a profoundly overrated city.
4
@CJ
If you look at plate 5, Niagara Falls is on it.
1
The commissioner then cited a standard by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators that 10 years is “a license plate’s useful life.”
This, I believe, is derived scientifically from studies of human memory. It’s referred to as R50, the time required for an unpleasant event to be forgotten by fifty percent of the people affected, petty theft being a typical example.
Against this is enhancement by repetition, whereby a second (or third, or fourth) unpleasantness from the same source tends to strengthen memories of earlier events.
The key to success in politics lies in balancing these two effects. This is why smart politicians distance themselves from motor vehicles, and especially from the DMV.
Among my family and friends, we have several plates that are twenty years old or more, and they work just fine. So the problem here is not the plates themselves, clearly.
4
Both of our cars had the badly peeling orange and blue plates, less than 10 years old. When I heard that we could get a ticket for that, we replaced them on both cars for free. I asked if they had corrected the problem with the new plates, and they said no. So I am happy that they have come up with a new design (any new design) for the plates, but why oh why do we have to pay for them?
As a graphic designer, I also think that all of the new designs are pretty awful, with the bridge being the worst. Since New York is such a large state with so many iconic images, maybe they should stick to a simple 2-color design with only type...that doesn't peel...ever.
21
So many wonderful artists in NY State and these meager designs are the only ones from which to choose?
11
Why am I not surprised at the graphically weak designs of all the proposed new New York State License plates? They are entirely in keeping with the rest of the insipid graphics in use for the range of the state's graphic requirements. Not since Milton Glaser had his I (Heart) NY design co-opted without compensation, has the state considered calling upon some of the World Class design capabilities of civic-minded firms right here in NYC to create a design worthy of The Empire State.
Why do I have to hang second rate designs on my beautiful car?
15
It is the Tappen Zee bridge to everyone but Cuomo's son. Just as the Tri Borough Bridge is not the RFK bridge except to the Kennedys. The Tappen Zee bridge is not representative of NY state. We should have a plate with just the numbers identifying our cars and the state's name in block letters. License plates have become so adorned with design that not only is it hard to read the numbers but also to identify the state.
Let's stop playing favorites games with Daddy's name. Change the name of the bridge to what is should be and the RFK bridge back to Tri Borough while we are at it. Make our license plates unadorned by pictures for those of us who think that readability is the most important thing.
BTW-I am still driving around with the white plates that were available till those ugly orange ones became mandatory and then not required. My plates are in good condition. Why should I have to buy new ones?
53
Like the Tappan Zee Bridge, the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel also has a proud legacy in terms of its name.
Once, names meant something.
14
@S.L.
“License plates have become so adorned with design that not only is it hard to read the numbers but also to identify the state.”
So true, but as with so much else in politics, it’s all about money. States have dozens of license plate styles available (Florida has over 100!) to choose from, often affiliated with special groups or as fund raising (save wildlife, for example)...but the states get a slice of it all.
5
@B. I like the 59th Street Bridge. Tada-da-na-na Feelin' groovy! :-)
8
It's the Tappan Zee Bridge to almost everyone in the state.
Those are the best designs, out of the zillions of things that make New York wonderful, and the thousands of talented designers living in the state, that we could come up with? Fire the designers!
13
People are up in arms about being asked to pay what comes to $2.50 a year for new tags yet are not making a peep about the $1000 a year tax increase Trump's tariffs represent.
9
@BlueMoose Maybe that's because the subject of this article is the new license plates.
9
@BlueMoose And where did you get the $1,000/yr cost from? Do Liberals have to equate everything with Trump? It's a sickness and you have it bad.
1
Many New Yorkers have vociferously objected to the trade war but that is not what this particular article is about.
6
The NY license plates are made by prisoners at the Auburn Correctional Facility so we know it’s not the high wages that require the $25 fee. NY recently cancelled the contract with 3M because the reflective surface of the existing plates is deteriorating far earlier than anticipated. Governor Andy says we need the new plates in order to implement the new cashless toll system that Massachusetts has had for years and didn’t require a change of plates. Methinks someone is telling us a porkie or two here!
28
Not only did MA not change plates, but we have some plates approaching 40 years old (the green-on-white ones). Not saying all of them are as legible as they were when new, but they do not have to be changed unless they become illegible.
3
The Tappan Zee bridge will always be the Tappan Zee bridge to people who live in the area. Why Cuomo had to rename it instead of a landmark where his father lived is beyond most of us.
Most of the old license plates are fine. These designs are ugly, period. If Cuomo wants to raise money in New York he can stop giving tax breaks to companies that don't act like good corporate citizens. He can earmark money to improve the NYC transit system, public transportation across the state, upgrade our roads and that includes lighting. If housing was less expensive more people might come here to live.
One other question, if prisoners are making the license plates and they are so cheap, why are we being charged $25 for them? That's outrageous.
40
@hen3ry I suspect Andy really wanted to rename the Tappan Zee after himself.
4
I vote for option #1 A faded Liberty on the left of the plate (though I admit the simplicity of the faded picture of the bridge is appealing) But I dont live in NY (though I come from there originally)
One would think with all of the great designers in New York, there could be a better designed plates than the ones presented. That being said, including the Tappan Zee/Cuomo bridge concept to the choices stood out to me exactly as an an Andrew Cuomo self promotion. I am a Democrat, but his pushiness sure does irk me.
With all of the great landmarks, that bridge is so low on he list.
33
New York Governor rigging something, anything....oh no, it never happens! And, if you believe that, I got a bridge to sell you.
21
In late breaking news, Governor Cuomo reopened the Kosciuszko Bridge and promptly renamed it the Mario Cuomo Bridge II.
15
@Fred
No he wouldn't. There aren't that many voters of Dutch descent but there sure are many Polish Americans in NY.
4
@Fred sadly enough that could be true with this man. He's a showman like someone else from New York is.
5
"plate inspection system" how much will that cost? A fee for everything, NYS writ large. I call the bridge the Tappan Zee, and I suspect most New Yorkers do. Honor our Dutch heritage, not the governor's father. Say, didn't Andrew Cuomo pick out the bridge name? And how was it paid for? This guy has presidential pretensions, sorry, not ever ready for prime time.
9
Don’t mess with the orange and black.
Did it once and had to go back.
16
@John Oggia- I disagree. I dodged the bullet on that one. I thought only a blind governor could approve such ugly plates. It was Governor Patterson who approved them. Luckily, I missed the year they were mandatory and still drive around with my white plates that are in good condition. Those gold plates look like they belong on toy cars.
4
C'mon Andrew, you named the bridge after your dad; now this? Man, I know you want to run for a 4th term, but guess what, I got news for you. You are not going to win! Ha Ha. It's time for you to go bro. You have lost it as far as I am concern.
18
Wow. The bridge plate is really ugly.
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@John I didn't even recognize which bridge it is and I live here.
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I am fuming about junior's unmitigated gall of naming the Tappan Zee Bridge after his father. We suffered through 12 years of Mario, now we're suffering through 12 years of his progeny. Drivers licenses for illegals? How can one issue a legal document to someone here illegally? What's next?
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@Jim Tagley How are you in Florida suffering from Governor Cuomo? Have you forgotten that the last Republican governor, George Pataki, quintupled the NY state debt?
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Just like "Avenue of the Americas" is always going to be Sixth Avenue, the "Mario Cuomo Bridge" is always going to be the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Always.
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@Rich I grew up in NYC, I am 70. Ave of the Americas has been just that in my mind for as long as I can remember being in Manhattan, about when I was 7. You're either older than me, or totally confused. Do you live on 4th Avenue?
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@LesISmore
Younger than you, not confused, and also a NYC native. If only for the quintessential New York sense of brevity when talking, Sixth Avenue seems to win out.
And no, I never lived on "4th Avenue", but I used to commute to a summer job on Lexington Avenue by riding the Lexington Avenue subway line (i.e., the #5 IRT).
And in act of civil disobedience I shall continue to call that bridge the Tappan Zee!
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@LesISmore or he could be a transplant that thinks they would sound more new yorker by saying statements like that. A forty year old man calling the Metlife building the PanAm building etc
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Good. I hate the orange....feel like Travis Bickle dropping my kids off at school.
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I really like my retro yellow plate with black letters. I guess it won't be a choice in this kerfuffle.
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@Mary Ann Nothing lasts, especially New York license plate designs.
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If Cuomo is so smart, why did he put his password on the license plate samples?
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Ranked Choice Voting. Give it a shot New York.
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@Tom Walker A lot of us would like to, believe me.
Do folks from NY know that the Statue of Liberty is in the state of NJ?
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@Jackie The island is an exclave of the New York City borough of Manhattan, surrounded by the waters of Jersey City, New Jersey. So no its NOT in NJ, sorry
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@Jackie
technically yes, but we see her better side.
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@Jackie No one goes to NJ to see the Statue of Liberty, though.
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We "C"- "U"- "Oh Mighty One"; playing your adult version of tag.
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Cuomo is threatening the new Democratic majority by making an issue over something as petty as $25 fees and narcissistic artwork on license plates.
Please, scrap this ill conceived idea and do real work that meaningfully impacts people's lives.
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A massive and inexcusable cash grab. Where is the data pointing to the fact that the old plates can't be read (save for the ones that are peeling)? Why didn't they require those of us with A-E series plates (not gold and navy blue) to replace those plates?
Shame on Cuomo and the ugly plates. Perhaps we can put the crime infested Albany neighborhood he lives in as a back drop on the plates as a sign of neglect.
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Besides, if you are going to put a bridge on the New York license plate, it ought to be one of historical significance, specifically the one connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan.
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Left unsaid is that all the designs look terrible. Can't they spend a couple bucks for a decent graphic designer?
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In my humble opinion, all of the designs are terrible. Artistically, the bridge one actually does look the best... but putting that bridge on our cars is kind of ridiculous. Same design with the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline behind it would be a much better fit.
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@Jon But then upstate might object.
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I'm sure that the governor knows what he's doing here and we all recognize hubris when we see it. If Andrew wants to be the man Mario was, he should see that a Death With Dignity bill passes and becomes the law in NY State. I won't hold my breath.
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Our current license plate design is simple and easy to read. What other purpose is needed? I just wonder whose palm was greased to force new license plates on the denizens of New York State. It’s always about the $$$ coming out of our pocket and into their‘s. Just as the Queensboro Bridge reads Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge the Tappan Zee bridge should read Mario Cuomo Tappan Zee bridge. Preferred would be no politicians’ name on our pre-existing bridges etc, but it is what it is.
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I find the plate with the bridge to be the most attractive but I believe the Brooklyn Bridge would be more meaningful than the Tappan Zee Bridge. Both the statue of Liberty and Niagara Falls would also be acceptable but all of the Liberty plates shown are awkward looking and aesthetically unpleasing to me, a New yorker retiree in Florida.
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I was stunned last year to find out that here in Florida, our plates are replaced every 10 years at, thankfully, no extra cost. I figure that I’ll have my new number memorized by the time the next replacement comes.
6
I was stopped by police because my battered old plate was on a new car and they thought the car was therefore stolen. So I get the reason for swapping out old plates. But since in New York, we are required to have 2 plates, front and back, and I don't want to change my number (not a vanity number, just that I know it and it's on all my accounts that require it), that means $90. And that seems excessive especially since the actual cost of the plates is minimal and no one from Cuomo's office is going to put these shiny new ones on my car for me. And conspiracy theory or not, the Tappan Zee Bridge is NOT a New York icon, lovely as it is. Mr. Cuomo needs to keep his dynastic hubris in check and my check out of the government's coffers.
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This obvious attempt to split the vote with three statue of liberty choices and one bridge recalls "House of Cards." What about an upstate choice; perhaps Niagara Falls (I'm a fifth generation Brooklynite, so this suggestion isn't motivated by downstate parochialism).
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@June Teufel Dreyer Niagara Falls is on one plate choice. It's in the lower left corner.
4
While the bridge plate design is actually the most aesthetically appealing to me (the others seem cluttered) and the bridge itself is impressive, the New Tappan Zee Bridge (which I will always call it despite the fact that I rather liked Mario) is not an emblematic depiction of the entire state of New York.
In reality, New York already has a "signature" license place with its orange and black design that goes back decades. Why not keep what works, and in the process, keep ego out of it? There are far more urgent things in New York on which money needs to be spent than new license plates (fixing the daily traffic jams at the New Tappan Zee Bridge being one of them).
48
Must not be very good at making license plates in New York. In Colorado, I've had the same plates for 28 years, they've outlasted 2 cars and the DMV says they are just fine.
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@lilrabbit Our license plates are just fine. It's our politicians that aren't made so well.
18
My son and I voted separately and without consulting each other. We are both democrats, but specifically did not vote for the plate with the bridge on it for the same reason, we recognize naked self promotion when we see it. Everyone I spoke to picked the plate that represented all of New York State, the one with the mountains AND the Statue of Liberty. I can only hope my fellow New Yorkers felt the same, and that not one vote was cast for the plate with the TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE on it. The bridge is not a symbol of New York.
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@Maggie Shamefully to me it appears to be fixed, so why bother?
2
The license plate should be designed for its primary purpose, namely so that people can read and remember the number. The visual clutter in most of the designs works against that purpose.
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@West Coast 100% correct, but you must understand that nobody’s pockets are getting lined if the plate design is not changed!
11
Don't blame me. I left his line blank last time, only because Teachout explicitly wouldn't run again.
7
"...emblematic of his inability to admit error and his propensity for self-promotion." Gosh, which other notable New Yorker in the news every minute of the day comes to mind from that quite accurate description?
While I generally scoff at conspiracy theories, one can't help but wonder that the governor, who has shown himself to at least be tolerant of corruption around him if it suits his own purposes, isn't letting his narcissism get the best of him. Perhaps he should just take the next step and design a plate with "CUOMO" in bold letters on it - an idea that would appeal to you know who as well.
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@George S. I'm all for it, as long as we put the word "Dump" in front of "Cuomo". I believe a lot of people would pay $25 to have a "Dump Cuomo" plate!
5
@George S
I love all the new signs installed on roadways and at the site of construction projects that are changed with every new gov - proclaiming just who the governor IS.
Given the total - and not insubstantial cost - of THISE signs, I am sure nobody but the new governor would object to NOT erecting these signs. Again, government spends with no attempt or concern about limiting costs.
1
Given the opposition to renaming of the Tappan Zee for Mario Cuomo, which had already been named for the now-demoted Malcolm Wilson, it was remarkably tone-deaf for the Governor to think the bridge now named for daddy should be the symbol of New York State on our license plates. Why re-invigorate a controversy, especially over something so insignificant? Some people just cannot get out of their own way.
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