New York Empire Plate Update

Thanks to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, I’ve seen more and more cars passing by with yet another thing my car does not have, but this time it wasn’t a quiet exhaust, a clean interior, or a trunk that opens. Instead, it was the new license plate: the Empire Gold.

Now sharing its colorway with the New York Knicks, the navy blue lettering over reflective orange is not all that new. It’s actually a redux of a kin from 1973-1986, except with a different border and a small cut-out of the state in its center. I think mixing modern with retro usually makes for a pretty interesting turnout, but I wasn’t really convinced here.

I thought we were coming far too close to New Jersey’s plates, and that’s nothing to brag about. Color gradients are cool and all, but, when driving on the Jersey Turnpike, I can’t help but pair the odor in the air with the yellow tint of their plate and think urine. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a lot of love for the state with one of the worst misnomers in the US — ‘The Armpit of America;’ the Jersey Shore was a family vacation destination for years and, awful as it may sound, there’s some attachment there.