NYC Marriage Bureau to Reopen Monday After March 2020 Closing

(Bloomberg) -- New York City’s marriage bureau will reopen on Monday, 16 months after the city closed down the department at the start of the pandemic.

The city’s five marriage bureaus had been closed since March 2020 due to health and safety concerns, despite the reopening of most other municipal offices and the return to office buildings by city employees. The city has been holding virtual ceremonies, but a deluge of requests led to months-long waits.

The first marriage licenses, which are required by law to get married in New York, will be given out in person beginning on July 23, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday.

De Blasio presented the opening as part of his effort to spur the city’s flagging tourism industry, encouraging people to visit the city. He also said the timing was symbolic: It’s the 10-year anniversary of marriage equality in New York, when same-sex marriage was legally recognized in the state.

“New York City is coming back and weddings are coming back,” said de Blasio at a briefing on Thursday. “It’s the summer of New York City. A lot of people are going to experience amazing things here, why not get married?”

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