NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — A new series of regional license plates have been debuted by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.
The custom plates include imagery from each of the state's 10 regions like Watkins Glen State Park for the Southern Tier and so on.
Western New York will be getting two regional plates: one featuring Niagara Falls, and the other a Buffalo Bills design. The custom plates were unveiled Friday by DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder at Niagara Falls State Park.
"When I became the commissioner in 2019, I went to one of our district offices in Syracuse, New York and the office manager said, she pulled me aside and she said commissioner, the Buffalo Bills plate is despicable. You need to do something about it, and so, so we did," said DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder.
Central New York's regional plate is a photo of the historic marquee of the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse. The North Country features the Thousand Islands Bridge and the Capital Region features, as you might guess, the State Capitol building and Empire State Plaza.
The plate for the New York City region features the Big Apple's iconic skyline and One World Trade Center. Long Island has a coastal scene with a lighthouse.
"What we're trying to do is we're trying to diversify the plates for New York, for New Yorkers so that they can brag about where they're from," said Mark Schroeder.
The designs for the Finger Lakes region are still pending on the DMV's website, along with the Mohawk Valley and Mid-Hudson.
The DMV is treating these regional plates just like custom plates, so they cost extra.
The upfront cost is $60.00 for an assigned plate number and $31.25 to renew annually. Drivers will pay $91.25 if they want a custom plate number and an additional $62.50 annual renewal fee.
The DMV notes on its website that the annual custom plate renewal fee is in addition to an owner's vehicle registration renewal fee. You will be billed for the plates every two years when you renew your registration.