Lacking 'pizzazz'? Here's what NY readers said about those regional license plate designs

While some New Yorkers found this year's regional license plate designs to be beautiful and fitting representations for each area, others wished the state had taken a different direction.

The New York Department of Motor Vehicles announced a new line of 10 regional New York license plates earlier this year, each featuring colored designs incorporating a well-known natural or manmade landmark from each region, with the region name listed under the license plate initials.

We asked you what you thought about the designs and here's what you had to say.

The Mid-Hudson plate lacks 'pizzazz'

The Mid-Hudson license plate design, whose region spans seven counties — Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester — depicts a view of the Hudson River.

But some area residents said the Mid-Hudson plate was "boring" and lacked a sense of place. "If it had some pizzazz, I might consider it," one submission read.

Others suggested the inclusion of other Hudson Valley landmarks, including West Point, Bear Mountain Bridge, the Walkway Over the Hudson or Bannerman Castle.

And another responder wished for more representation of Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.

The plate images were created by workers in the New York Department of Motor Vehicles' Office of Communications "using photographs that reflect the uniqueness of New York’s 10 regions," a DMV spokesperson said — a small internal committee made the final selection of which landmark photographs would grace each plate.

Readers: Southern Tier plate design also missed the mark

A view of a waterfall at Watkins Glen State Park in Watkins Glen is at the forefront of the Southern Tier plate, however, "most people in the (Southern Tier) region would say Watkins is in the Finger Lakes area," one submission read.

Many respondents said it lacked color and the Southern Tier would have been better represented by "something cheery like hot air balloons over Otsiningo Park," which are celebrated during Binghamton's annual Spiedie Fest & Balloon Rally; or a carousel, since Binghamton is known as the carousel capital of the world.

New York license plates: 10 regional plates revealed this year. See all the designs

How to buy NY's regional license plates

If you like your region's plate design, the easiest way to snag one is through the Department of Motor Vehicles website, at dmv.ny.gov/plates.

To order online, you need to have a car registration that's valid for the next 60 days, an up-to-date name and address with the DMV, and a valid credit or debit card.

You can also order over the phone, by mail or in person at a DMV office.

So how much do these regional plates cost? They are $60 if you're a first-time buyer and you go with assigned license plate initials, and $31.25 for the annual custom plate renewal fee after that.

If you want to spring for personalized initials, it'll cost you $91.25 initially, with $62.50 annual renewals.

Some of the other custom plates, like the I Love NY plate, are slightly cheaper.

Emily Barnes is the New York State Team consumer advocate reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Barnes at ebarnes@gannett.com or on Twitter @byemilybarnes.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: NY license plates: Here's what you thought of regional designs