Bernadette Hogan and David Meyer report in the New York Post that Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sept. 17 backed off his plan to charge New York car owners $25 to replace their license plates, with an additional fee to keep the same license number. A Siena College poll released in the morning showed 60 percent to 31 percent of New Yorkers were against the measure. Just a few hours later, Cuomo adviser Rich Azzopardi said he wasn't saying the license plate proposal was over, because someone else had reversed the policy “weeks ago,” and that the poll by Siena College researchers therefore reflected “outdated information.” But, until now, there were no news accounts that any officials had reversed the policy. But Azzopardi insisted that this Aug. 29 statement from DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder had called off the proposal: “If the Legislature can agree to a cost-effective and practical plate inspection mechanism to determine what plates are still in good operating condition after the 10-year life and thus do not need to be replaced, we would welcome the opportunity to be cooperative.” The poll reported that 75 percent of New Yorkers thought the $25 replacement fee was unfair and 23 percent said it was reasonable. Read more about this story in the New York Post.