Bobby, you didn't read the links, huh. It isn't JUST a small bump in registration fees. There is also a new plate fee, with an additional fee just in case you wish to keep your old plate number (so you don't have to change it with EZ-Pass, etc.), and various other increases. The minimum fee (JUST FOR THE MANDATORY NEW PLATE) is $25 per vehicle.
As you say, for you, living in Scarsdale, the increase may not seem like much relative to your income and assets. However, for the average New Yorker, say a secretary at a sign shop in Selkirk, NY, that's a major pain in the ass.
Outside of the larger Metropolitan areas, NY is a piss poor rural State and it getting poorer as what small manufacturers are closing down. Downstate NY pays the bulk of the taxes since we have the bulk of the population and more businesses Downstate supports the State Government. I pay no less then 10X the property taxes that my in laws upstate pay. It is not unusual to have a 3,000 sq ft house on a 1/2 acre lot pay $20,000 in property tax in my Town.
Realistically a $5.00 bump in vehicle registraion fees is chump change considering the other numbers we pay.
[edited to correct spelling mistake]