Metro

City implements lottery to accommodate gay marriage applicants

Gay couples who want to make history this weekend in New York City will need reservations and luck.

So many couples have applied to get married this Sunday — the first day same-sex weddings become legal here — that the city has instituted a lottery to select the fortunate 764 it can accommodate.

“The last thing we want to have happen is for couples to wait on line for hours and hours only to walk away upset at what was supposed to be the biggest day of their lives,” said Mayor Bloomberg, explaining the need to set limitations.

“We want to make sure Sunday is not like a trip to Motor Vehicles,” agreed City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Officials said the City Clerk has already received 2,661 online marriage applications, including 1,728 from same sex couples.

Half said they planned to get hitched Sunday, about double the number the five clerk’s offices can accommodate.

The 764 marriages on that day would be a record-setter, surpassing the 621 conducted on Valentine’s Day in 2003.

To prevent lottery slots from being peddled, the city is requiring that the names of those in the contest match the names used on the final marriage certificates.

Officials suggested the winning couples allow at least an hour to fill out the paperwork.

The ceremony itself takes one minute.

Quinn, one of the leaders in the fight to pass a gay marriage law, hinted that she’s planning something special for those who show up.

“There might be a surprise or two,” she said.