First gay couples marry in Queens

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, July 28, 2011 Page 2
C M WQ page 2 Y K
Jackson Heights resident Jim Rescigna holds up a sign showing his support outside Queens Borough Hall on Sunday. With short lines and no protesters, the atmosphere in Queens as the
borough’s first gay marriages took place was notably calm.
PHOTO BY PAULA NEUDORF
First gay couples
marry in Queens
Record numbers wed citywide as
historic state law goes into effect
by Paula Neudorf
Associate Editor
cstatic,” “elated” and “equal” —
these were just some of the words
gay couples used to describe their
feelings on Sunday at Queens Borough Hall,
as they lined up to become the first ever married in Queens. The historic moment was set
in motion a month ago, on June 24, when the
state Legislature passed and the governor
signed a law allowing same-sex marriages.
Applications for marriage licenses flooded
the city clerk’s office, prompting the use of a
lottery system that would allow record numbers to be married in all five boroughs on
Sunday, the first day the law took effect.
In Queens, the couples arrived from all
around the city and far-flung states. Many, like
Astoria residents Greg Levine and Shane
Serkiz, the very first gay couple married on
Sunday, couldn’t wait.
“We got here a little before 7,” Levine told
reporters outside the office, just minutes after
exchanging vows with Serkiz. The office officially opened at 8:30 a.m., but the couple
wanted to avoid crowds.
Levine and Serkiz have had to wait a long
time to wed. When asked how long the couple
had been engaged, Levine promptly answered:
“4,223 days.”
The high school math teacher proposed to
Serkiz, a special education teacher, on Dec.
31, 1999. “I got down on one knee and I said,
‘Shane, will you marry me?’” Levine said.
The couple, with Levine’s family in attendance, seemed overjoyed that their nearly 12year engagement had come to an end.
For Serkiz, who was born near Binghamton, NY, being able to get married in his home
state was particularly moving.
“It really to me is a statement by the people
of New York saying ‘yes,’” Serkiz said.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), one of two openly gay council members
in Queens, was on hand to witness the historic
first marriage between Levine and Serkiz,
FIRA-048277
“E
officiated by Judge Sidney F. Strauss. Immediately after the ceremony, Van Bramer said he
felt “disbelief that I just watched two gay men
from Astoria get married.” He added: “I’m so
incredibly happy for them.”
Couple after couple who emerged from the
clerk’s off ice as newlyweds echoed Van
Bramer.
“I had never expected that this day would
come,” said Sunnyside resident Lloyd Pasach,
who wed Val Mendoza, his partner of 33
years. The two met at the University of Florida
in September 1975.
Given the same-sex marriage bill’s history,
it’s not surprising many doubted whether it
would ever become law. The bill was defeated
less than two years ago in the state Senate.
This year, the bill struggled to make it to the
floor for a vote.
Newlyweds Lou Rispoli and Danyal Lawson described how they watched the bill get
approved by 33-29 votes just a little before
midnight on television.
“It was like the Berlin Wall falling,” Rispoli
said.
The bill’s successful passage has been
attributed in part to Gov. Cuomo’s outspoken
support, as well as activists’ continued efforts.
“We’ve been working on [the bill] for over
a decade,” said Johanna Osburn, a representative of Empire State Pride Agenda who handed out “Just Married” sashes to couples
throughout the day.
By Sunday’s end, a record-setting 659
couples were married or had received marriage licenses in New York City, 89 of them
in Queens, according to the Mayor’s
Office.
Van Bramer threw a party Sunday night at
Claret, a wine bar in Sunnyside, to celebrate,
where City Comptroller John Liu toasted the
newlywed couples present.
“When two people love each other and are
committed to each other, they should let nothQ
ing hold them back,” Liu said.
See photos from the wedding day on page ##.
21
C M WQ page 21 Y K
Couples vow ‘I do’ on Sunday, the first day same-sex marriage law took effect
Sunnyside residents Val Mendoza, left, and Lloyd Pasach,
together for 33 years, were among the record numbers of gay
couples married at Queens Borough Hall on Sunday.
Newlyweds Lou Rispoli and Danyal Lawson, Woodside residents engaged for, you guessed it, 31 years, at Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer’s celebration in Sunnyside.
Newlyweds Gregory Lane and Frank Daykin. The
Sunnyside residents have been together for five years. Randy Shoulders and Gustavo
Medina from Reading, Pa.
Jay Sindo, left, Nikki Gonzalez and Gonzalez’s son, Eric. “She
has a really nice gown,” Sindo said of Gonzalez. License in
hand, the Pennsylvania couple planned to wed Friday.
Carl and Robert Hayden traveled
from Manhattan.
The happy mood outside Queens Borough Hall seemed to spread to
the police officers on duty.
PHOTOS BY PAULA NEUDORF
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Page 21 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, July 28, 2011
‘I now pronounce you married’