“The license plate is there for one reason and one reason only: so that someone hit by a car can get the information of who hit them and get that to the police,” Mr. Heller said. “It’s a functional thing, not a decorative thing. It’s not a promotion for tourists."
This is coming from the co-chairman at the School of Visual Arts? What a killjoy.
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Love my Blue and Orange Plate. Best ever. Or since the 70's at least. Delaware (!) is the best example of a simple plate.
I feel like the whole new plate thing was snuck up on us (that's English, right?).
I hate the new plates.
I stand with the Empire State. It's iconic.
And now you made me say iconic.
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I know I voted for one of the plates when New York Today first wrote about the contest, but for the life of me, I can't remember which one. They all look so busy and cluttered.
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@Lifelong Reader
But the headline, "Too Much on New York’s Plate?" is clever. If there's an in-house weekly contest, it should be a contender.
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@Lifelong Reader, I love the title, too!!
But this choice of word here is down-to-earth here, saying it all without wordplay.
From the article: “They are pretty crappy,” says Steven Heller, a co-chairman at the School of Visual Arts’ master of fine arts program ..."
LOL - that’s a technical industry term, meaning it’s not quite there, and could use some work, right? :).
True, buts it’s far from “Headless Body In Topless Bar”
Every aspect of the plate design is lacking and lots of bad parts is even worse! A line around the outside, a racing stripe, an outline of the state, the motto and an image makes for a hokey mess.
License plates used to be distinctive. These are hideous.
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I think redesigning the plate is a great idea. Of course, the designs are not so great. I particularly like the one with the Statue of Liberty's torch in the middle, but of course there are flaws to that. Who designed these? I hope that it was New Yorkers who are designers and are out of work and could use this kind of exposure if their designs make the cut. If not, lets do it all over gain. Lets put these talented people on the map.
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keeping my car's 1992 liberty red white and blue plates, thank you very much.
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while i agree with mr heller's comment that some of the new plate proposals look "overdesigned", i strongly disagree that license plates in general are purely functional and not decorative. theyre part of the american culture, just spend some time in a car on the highway traveling cross-country (aka try getting out of the city once in a while, new yorkers) ...
5
Why the need to change? The current design has classic NY plate colors and is attractive in its simplicity.
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I agree whole heartedly with Mr Heller. These new plates are tacky - I will avoid at all costs changing my current blue and yellow plate for one.
I don’t entirely understand the motivation for the need to change, but it isn’t a good look for New York State or Governor Cuono.
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@Sean - Regarding “I agree whole heartedly with Mr Heller. These new plates are tacky“ and whether it'd a good look for the Governor -
I imagine the Governor is just giving us more of what he probably assumes we liked, since we made him a shoo-in last election! Why would he have thought we wanted him to be any different than he'd been the terms before?
Tune of “Put On a Happy Face”
Though it needs redesigning,
Put on his tacky plate
Sure, it needs much refining.
Put on his tacky plate
Though we may feel like disrespecting him
He shows no shame.
That’s what we get for re-electing him:
More of the same.
I rooted for Ms. Nixon
I kind of liked her buzz.
But voters put our picks in
Knowing who Andrew was.
We chose Cuomo, and so it’s our fate
To put on that tacky plate.
What's the big whoop? -- We all know the Governor is going to choose the design with daddy's namesake bridge on it.
Meanwhile, it's sticker shock for anyone getting or renewing their driver's license.
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BINGO! It’s all about the money $$$$$$. Paterson did the same thing. Change for no other reason than to get funds!
If, indeed, there is a cabal to split the vote so that the plate design with the new Trans-Hudson Bridge is selected, I will suspend my parsimony and order vanity plates that say
ITS DA TZ
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Please pick up your game with Metropolitan Diary. So many of these entries (including today’s) are just inane.
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@Wry And Dry
THANK YOU. I stopped complaining about them in order not to be a bore but they're embarrassing. I usually ignore them but every now and then I let my eye swoop down just to see if I'm wrong. I'm never wrong.
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Looks like another money grab by the State and in this case Cuomo wanting paid vanity plates for everybody to honor his father.
The only legit case for new plates is if the old plates cannot be identified due to damage, age or if it can truly not be read by the new electronic processes.
And then, just like with motor vehicle inspection every yr., you should be able to bring it to a licensed auto mechanic for a small designated fee by the state to be replaced. Replacing old rusting plates can be a ordeal especially for a senior like me.
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Why exactly does their need to be new license plates anyway? I don't see what's wrong with the ones that already exist. More importantly, how much do this new license plates cost? Nonetheless, they seem pretty overrated and overpriced if you asked me.
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The proposed white license plates with their spidery, inconsequential designs are all insipid looking.
My black and mustard-colored license plate is seven years old, and EZ Pass reads it just fine.
(So did the speed camera that caught me the week after the city lowered the speed limit.)
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