State DMV finally unveils 9/11 commemorative license plates

This article was originally posted on the official NY POST website, written by Susan Edelman, we are simply sharing it raise awareness among our 9/11 Community.

This article was originally posted on the official PIX11 website, written by Jennifer Bisram, we are simply sharing it raise awareness among our 9/11 Community.

“Better late than never!

Nearly 18 years after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, the state DMV is offering a commemorative 9/11 license plate — a remembrance at least 13 other states already have.

The new red, white and blue plates feature the date, 9-11-01, an American flag, and silhouettes of civilians and first-responders standing side by side.

The wording: “Never Forget” and “United We Stand.”

“It’s something that should have been done a long time ago,” said John Feal, an advocate for Ground Zero rescue and recovery workers, who helped DMV staffers design the plates.

Feal said he wanted universal symbols meaningful to anyone affected by 9/11. He rejected a proposed design that included an image of the Twin Towers, because that might cause pain for victims.

“I made it clear I didn’t want anything to bring back bad memories,” he said.

Feal and downtown businessman Neil Pedersen stepped up to the plate last month after The Post reported that the DMV had done nothing to design or produce the plates despite a law signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last August authorizing their issuance.

Enlarge ImageJohn Feal, left, and Neil Pedersen at the 9/11 memorial.Helayne Seidman

“It was a pretty simple task that seemed to cripple Albany,” Feal said.

Pedersen, owner of Pedersen & Sons Surety Bond Agency, volunteered to put up the $6,000 bond the DMV said it needed to get the process started. The FealGood Foundation sponsored it.

Pedersen and Feal split the $120 cost to issue the bond. The $6,000 will not be necessary once 200 plates are sold.

The DMV set the fees for the plate: Each will cost an initial $85, and a $56.25 annual fee to renew an assigned 9/11 plate. For personalized plates, it will cost an initial $116.25 plus $87.50 a year to renew

Those renewal fees will be billed every two years in addition to a vehicle’s registration renewal, the DMV says.

Part of the annual renewal fee — $25 — will support the state’s World Trade Center Memorial Scholarship Fund, which covers college tuition for 9/11 victims, ailing first-responders and their children.

Thirteen other states, including New Jersey and Connecticut, already have special 9/11-inspired license plates, generating revenue for those states’ coffers.”