History was made in New York City yesterday: 484 couples wed across the five boroughs as same-sex nuptials officially became legal for the first time in the state.
By 9 a.m., over 250 people were lined up outside the Manhattan City Clerk’s Office. Across the East River, the first gay couple to be married at Brooklyn Borough Hall was Stacey Minondo and Barbara Tremblay, downtown Brooklyn residents and partners of eight years.
The two women became emotional as they recited their vows and Judge Bernard Graham told Tremblay to take her time as she stopped to wipe away tears.
The sense of jubilation was not limited to same-sex couples. Cobble Hill resident Steve Landis brought his twin three-year-old girls, Emily and Sophie, to Brooklyn Borough Hall to volunteer as flower girls for any couple who wanted them.
Flatbush couple Rachel, 34, and Lailah Pepe, 30, already had their ceremony on May 28, but made it legal yesterday at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
“We thought we were going to have to go to Connecticut,” said Lailah. “When the judge was doing the ceremony, I was tearing up. You don’t know what it means until you have that legal recognition, to say you’re equal.”
