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NYC offices to open on a Sunday for gay marriage

New York City Clerk's offices will be open on Sunday, July 24, the first day same-sex marriages can be performed in New York.
Andrew Cuomo
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reacts in June after same sex marriage was legalized after a vote in the Senate Chamber at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. Mike Groll / AP file
/ Source: NBCNewYork.com

New York City Clerk's offices will be open on Sunday, July 24, to accommodate gay couples wishing to marry on the first day the marriage equality bill takes effect in New York, city officials announced Tuesday.

Additionally, clerk's offices will extend hours the week before the law takes effect in anticipation of an increase in applications for marriage licenses and civil ceremonies, Mayor Bloomberg's office said in a statement.

On July 24, the first day gay marriage ceremonies can take place, clerk's offices will be open in all five boroughs, the statement said. The offices would normally be closed for the weekend.

"This is a historic moment for New York, a moment many couples have waited years and even decades to see — and we are not going to make them wait one day longer than they have to,” said Mayor Bloomberg.

Gay marriage became legal in New York on June 24. The state is home to an estimated 42,000 same-sex couples.

"So many of us have waited a lifetime for the day we could see full equality for all New York families, now that day is finally in sight. The City of New York will be the place to be on July 24th and we are proud to welcome all couples and their families to have a meaningful ceremony in the Clerk’s office, right here in the greatest city on earth,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

On Tuesday, same sex couples were officially able to to begin applying for marriage applications in New York. Some couples were displeased to find that the applications made available to them still used the terms "bride" and "groom," a correction city officials said would be made quickly.