By Daniel Massey
Deputy County Clerk Dora Young felt as if every day last week was Valentine’s Day, a day when she typically performs up to 100 marriage ceremonies.
But the presence of several hundred people anxiously waiting near a side entrance to Queens Borough Hall daily last week to either get a marriage license or have an official wedding ceremony performed did not mean February had arrived early.
The Sept. 11 attacks in Lower Manhattan damaged the main computers for the city’s marriage license bureaus, leaving Young’s Kew Gardens office as the only place where couples wanting to tie the knot could obtain the proper paperwork.
As hundreds of people descended on Borough Hall from around the five boroughs, couples waited in line for up to four hours to apply for the cherished documents.
“This is something that’s been ever since the attack,” Young said. “We never had all these people coming in for natural things. This is a natural thing. On Valentine’s Day sometimes we get 100 couples, but this is continuous.”
Though the licensing office in Manhattan reopened Friday, the couples on line at Borough Hall in Kew Gardens did not realize it. “We went to the courthouse in Brooklyn and were turned around,” said Lamar Garner of Crown Heights. “They said Brooklyn was closed and Manhattan was closed, so we had to come here.”
After three hours, Garner who plans to marry his fiancée, Arneice Taylor, Oct. 18, could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. “I understand why, but it’s still taking a long time,” said Taylor. “They should find a better way of getting us in there.”
Leo Stoute, a security guard, did his best to try to speed up the process.
“Come on, we’ve got to get you guys in and out,” he shouted to the crowd of couples dressed in everything from tuxedoes and wedding gowns to sweat pants and sneakers. “Next couple for ceremony. Have your license and your money order out!”
Asked if it was a hectic week, he replied “more than that.”
Many people said they did not mind the long wait.
“We understand why the lines are so long,” said Andrea Romero of Middle Village, who waited with her fiancé, Garrett Higgins. “All five boroughs are here.”
Scott Rownin and Lauren Zirlin of Manhattan made it to the front of the line after four hours. “It feels great to be here,” said Rownin.
Juan Urrutia and his fiancée, Carmen Talavera, had come from East New York in Brooklyn. “I don’t mind waiting at all,” said Urrutia. “She’s worth the wait.”
Reach Reporter Daniel Massey by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
