I Love NY

Press release from Assemblyman Steve Hawley:

As the Sept. 30 deadline for the removal of New York state’s illegal "I Love New York" signs approaches, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) has called on Gov. Cuomo to obey federal requirements and follow through with eliminating the dangerous distraction before it is too late.

A failure to do so could result in New York’s loss of $14 million in federal highway funding at a steep cost to the state’s already overburdened taxpayers.

Federal highway officials have been pushing for the removal of the "I Love New York" signs for over a year, citing the location and amount of text on the signs as a distracting hazard to drivers.

Despite objections from Washington, more than 500 of these oversized signs were installed in 2017 at an $8.1 million cost to New York’s taxpayers. Now the campaign, meant to drive tourism across the Empire State, could result in an even greater cost to New York’s residents.

Hawley has been actively pushing for the signs’ timely removal in the interest of not only New York’s finances, but the safety of the state’s drivers.

“It is no secret that our governor is at odds with the federal government, and it is shameful for him to endanger our state’s drivers and allow this invaluable funding to hang in the balance due to this personal feud,” Hawley said.

“I call on Governor Cuomo to do what’s right for the people of New York and remove these ill-advised and distracting road signs before our taxpayers are left to quite literally pay the consequences.”

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is again calling on Gov. Cuomo to remove the illegal blue I Love NY Thruway signs before the state loses the ability to recoup the $14 million it was fined this winter. The Cuomo administration previously installed the signs despite knowing they were against federal highway codes. New York has until Sept. 30 to remove all the signs.

“This charade has gone on far too long. New York taxpayers are already down over $8 million for these bogus signs, and if the governor doesn’t accept reality and take them down by the Sept. 30 deadline, taxpayers will be down another $14 million,” Hawley said.

“The governor can put up all the signs he wants but the reality is that his policies have perpetuated the highest taxes in the nation and are rotting Upstate New York from the inside out. That is why no one wants to move here,” Hawley continued.

“It is bad enough that many of these signs were not even built in our state, using our tax money to bolster jobs in Arkansas, but the fact is that the governor knew these signs were illegal and he put them up anyway. We have about four weeks to comply, but if he takes them down with the same urgency as he did to put them up, there shouldn’t be any problems.”