Gay wedding party? Not without Marty!
Borough President Markowitz has long championed gay rights, so it was no surprise that the day same-sex marriage became legal in New York, he was with his lesbian and gay constituents every step of the way.
At 9 am on Sunday, he cheered on couples who waited outside the Municipal Building for their marriage licenses. A half hour later he turned Borough Hall into a wedding hall, where dozens of couples tied the knot and shared cake and Champagne — all on his tab.
“If it’s called marriage for my wife Jamie and me, it shouldn’t be any different for gay people,” he said.
Markowitz and his different-sex spouse were on hand for the first wedding at Borough Hall — the marriage of Downtown residents Barbara Tremblay and Stacey Minondo — and tearfully embraced as the women said “I do.”
He took photos with many other newlyweds, bid them “Mazel tov,” and even brought openly gay Council Speaker Christine Quinn into the receiving line.
“How could you do marriage equality without seeing Marty?” Quinn said. “The reason gay marriage was successful was because of Brooklyn and the outer boroughs.”
Markowitz’s legacy extends beyond the day’s festivities. In years past, he raised a rainbow flag atop Borough Hall, rode floats in gay pride parades, and secured funds for the proposed Brooklyn Pride Community Center.
When Albany legalized same-sex marriage last month, the Beep vowed to turn the People’s House into a chapel on the day the law took effect.
And he made good on his promise by securing two judges, a pastor and a rabbi to make sure locals could take the plunge without delay.
“We celebrate love here in Brooklyn,” Markowitz said. “I wish these couples as much happiness as my wife and I have been blessed to share.”
