A Lengthy Island grandpa whose pee-themed license plate was revoked by the DMV is a wee bit peeved concerning the turnaround — and now he’s asking the governor for some aid.
Seth Bykofsky, 69, mentioned he was shocked when his “PB4WEGO” vainness plates had been yanked in January as a result of they weren’t offensive or any extra controversial than every other dad joke.
“I’ve pushed it via, conservatively, 15 states – pink states, blue states, everybody smiles,” Bykofsky instructed The Submit of the plates, which he displayed for greater than 5 years. “One time, a police officer pulled up subsequent to me at a light-weight and motioned over…he mentioned, ‘I simply needed to cease you. I received such fun out of your plate.’”
The West Hempstead man was instructed by the Division of Motor Autos in a January letter that its “rigorous screening course of” decided that “PB4WEGO” was “now not in compliance.”
“What I’m making an attempt to do right here at this level is to make individuals smile, give them just a little snicker at a time after we all may use one thing to snicker about,” he mentioned.
Whenever you gotta go, you gotta go
Bykofsky went yellow and eliminated them for normal plates with a random stream of letters and numbers — begrudgingly.
“Nobody I’ve met anyplace who’s seen the plate or talked concerning the plate has discovered it offensive in in the least,” he mentioned. “It’s intelligent, it’s comical, it’s witty, and it’s a phrase that each dad or mum and grandparent says.”
In spite of everything, he coined the contraction based mostly on years of non-public expertise along with his personal two kids and later 4 grandkids.
“You get on the street and 10 minutes in – nowhere close to a relaxation cease: ‘Dad, I’ve to go, or pops, I have to go. Properly, pee earlier than we go!” Bykofsky mentioned.
“In truth, my kids, who’re now not little children, complain. ‘Dad, after we needed to go to the toilet after we had been little, you by no means would cease.’”
Bykofsky — who mentioned that no inspiration got here from the well-known “Assman” episode of “Seinfeld” — had wished the plates for many years, however till not too long ago, “it was by no means accessible.”
“I had requested for it a variety of occasions,” based on Bykofsky, who added that “all people within the household thought it was cute” as soon as it lastly reached their driveway.
“My grandkids would snicker. They’d snicker so arduous that I’ve to say to them, ‘Don’t snicker so arduous since you’ll should pee!’”
Bykofsky mentioned he’s now interesting on to Gov. Kathy Hochul to step in.
“That is all humorous, and within the scheme of issues which might be happening within the nation, on this planet, it’s meaningless…However on a private degree, I feel we have now some rights that really shouldn’t be abridged,” he mentioned.
“As foolish as it’s, on the one hand, and it’s undoubtedly administrative overreach to me, it’s additionally a method of stifling free speech. What is going to come subsequent?”
He’s hopeful that Hochul will comply with the lead of former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who personally allowed a neighborhood lady named Wendy Auger to maintain her plates with the identical message in 2019.
“I’ve been in contact together with her to say that we’re kindred spirits. We’ve got the help of the individuals in New Hampshire,” Bykofsky mentioned.
“Their state motto is ‘Dwell Free or Die.’ Properly, in my case, it’s ‘dwell free, or pee earlier than we go.’”
No matter occurs, Bykofsky has a contingency plan if New York State doesn’t relieve him of his primary subject.
“If I don’t win this battle, I’m merely going to have them framed and put up in my rest room,” he mentioned in defiance of DMV orders to destroy the plates.
“I’ve seen rather more insulting issues on vehicles.”
