New Yorkers in Exile

[BullNBear52]

Are they back? I wouldn't call them new if they look like the old ones? Funny how they are calling the color gold!

Bold School: NY's New License Plate - Hot Or Not?
'Empire Gold' Plates Available Beginning April 2010ALBANY (CBS)



Design for New York's new "Empire Gold" license plate, available for motorists beginning in April 2010.

Bumpers across the tri-state are about to become a bit more colorful as the state's Department of Motor Vehicles unveiled its newest license plate design Tuesday. It seems as if many New Yorkers, however, aren't too pleased with the bold new design.

More than 80 percent of those who have taken part in a poll on WCBSTV.com as to whether they liked the new plate or not voted that they found it to be quite unappealing.

The "Empire Gold" design features a mostly golden-tinted plate with a navy bordering and lettering, along with a small, navy state silhouette in the center. The thicker blue border atop the plate features the words "New York" in gold lettering, while the bottom portion reads "Empire State" in navy lettering.


Motorists will be able to switch to the design when it's released in April 2010.

A plate fee of $25.00 will be added to the registration renewal fee. Single plate registrations for vehicles such as motorcycles will be charged a plate fee of $12.50. If you want to keep your old tag numbers, you'll have to fork out an additional $20 as well.

Officials say the new plate will bring in an expected $129 million in revenue over the next two years.

"This project will benefit law enforcement efforts, and therefore enhance public safety, in several ways," said Denise E. O'Donnell, Deputy Secretary for Public Safety and Commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. "For instance, nearly 300 police agencies in New York State are currently deploying approximately 500 computerized license plate readers (LPRs) that enable authorities to quickly identify vehicles that have been stolen or used in a crime. These new plates will ensure that the LPRs are as effective as possible."

The DMV will begin issuing the new plates for registration renewals that expire in May 2010. Customers renewing their vehicle registrations in person in a DMV office, over the phone, by mail or through the Internet, will receive their new Empire Gold plates in the mail. Customers completing an original over-the-counter registration transaction will receive their plates immediately.

The most recent New York license plate design was issued in 2001.