NYC judge volunteers to wed LI same-sex couples
At least one judge will be helping Long Island same-sex couples wed on July 24 -- the day the state's Marriage Equality Act takes effect.
Justice Shirley Kornreich, of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, has volunteered to marry couples that Sunday at Brookhaven Town Hall -- an offer the town clerk's office accepted Friday.
Kornreich, who lives in Quogue, declined to comment.
Under the new law, same-sex couples can obtain licenses July 24, but they must wait 24 hours to solemnize their marriage before an authorized marriage officer. The only way couples can get around the waiting period is by getting a State Supreme Court judge to issue a waiver.
Town Clerk Patricia Eddington said Kornreich reached out to her office this week, saying she'd be willing to issue waivers.
Eddington said the action stemmed from an urgent request made by a gay couple from Ridge. One of the men has a serious medical condition.
Rather than issuing one license, Eddington decided to open her Farmingville office from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. that Sunday to give other residents the same opportunity. Up to 20 same-sex couples had signed up as of Friday afternoon.
Eddington, a supporter of the law who had voted for similar measures as a former state assemblywoman, said she will have three staff members on overtime to assist couples on an appointment basis.
"I felt that people who want licenses on Sunday have waited long enough, and I believe it was the obligation of the Town of Brookhaven to perform our duties responsibly," Eddington said.
Kornreich, who has held her court seat since 2008, "volunteered to do whatever she could do to enforce the law," a member of her staff said Friday.
No other judge has come forward to marry same-sex couples on Long Island, although several dozen around the state, including many in New York City, have agreed to do so.
The Town of North Hempstead clerk's office, in Nassau County, has also announced it will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 24 to issue licenses. No judge will be present, however.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
