By Shawn Henry 
A Long Island man is challenging the New York Department of Motor Vehicles after the agency revoked his “PB4WEGO” vanity license plate, which he had displayed on his vehicle for more than five years. Seth Bykofsky, 69, of West Hempstead said he received a letter in January informing him that the custom plate was no longer in compliance following a review by the DMV.
Bykofsky said he had driven with the plate across roughly 15 states without issue since it was issued. The phrase, a shortened version of “pee before we go,” was intended as a lighthearted reference to a common reminder given to children before road trips. According to Bykofsky, the DMV’s notice stated that its screening process determined the plate did not meet current standards. He removed the vanity plate and replaced it with a standard-issue combination of letters and numbers after being notified.
The revocation ended a personalized plate that Bykofsky said he had tried to obtain for years before it became available. He said family members, including his children and grandchildren, found the plate humorous. The DMV did not publicly detail what prompted the reassessment or specify the compliance issue cited in the January notice.
Bykofsky has since appealed directly to Gov. Kathy Hochul, asking for intervention in the decision. He referenced a similar case in New Hampshire in which a driver was permitted to retain the same phrase on a license plate. Bykofsky indicated he has connected with that driver while pursuing his appeal.
For now, the original plates have been removed from his vehicle. Bykofsky said that if the state does not reverse the decision, he plans to keep the plates as a personal memento rather than destroy them. The DMV’s revocation remains in effect as he awaits any further response from state officials.
