Licence Plate Frames Illegal?

A friend just told me that it is illegal to have a licence plate frame in New York, and I can get a ticket for $150. Is this true? Does anyone who lives and/or drives in the city knows about this? The reason I was told was because these frames hide the word "commercial", "bus" and other such adjectives to the plate. Of course my friend removed both his front and back frames and asked me to remove my Harvard University frames which I removed a few minutes ago.

It isn't illegal to have or install a license plate frame. If the frame covers part of the license plate then yes it would be subject to a fine. Here ya go: http://www.aaany.com/automotive/maintenance_service/tips_stories/Automotive_Advice/Product_Reports/story.asp?xml=license_plate_frames_and_the_law.xml Hope it helps, Mike

Thanks for the info NowYaKnow, Now I know! I thought along the same lines as that but since I did not find anything about this on the NY DOT site, I thought it would be prudent to remove my plates. The ones I have were cast iron and covered "The Empire State" logo. I now have to shop for safety frames i guess.