Metro

Cheers for Gov. Cuomo at gay pride parade

WEDDING PARTY: Waving signs of support for Gov. Cuomo, marchers celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage at yesterday’s pride parade in the West Village. (NY post: G.N. Miller )

(AP)

More than a half-million people packed Fifth Avenue yesterday, turning the annual gay pride parade into a gigantic victory celebration and giving a rock-star reception to Gov. Cuomo — who predicted the rest of the nation would soon follow New York’s historic lead in legalizing same-sex marriages.

“I believe New York has sent a message to this nation loud and clear: It is time for marriage equality all across this country,” Cuomo proclaimed to wild cheers.

“If New York can do it, it’s OK for every other place.”

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Ecstatic revelers were moved to tears upon seeing Cuomo march down Fifth Avenue, and other couples screamed out, asking if he’d officiate their nuptials once the law takes effect July 25.

Still others waved signs reading, “Thank You Governor Cuomo” and “Promise Kept.”

“I’ve been to this parade many times, and there’s always a lot of energy and I’ve always had a ball, but this was special,” Cuomo said.

“People were so excited, people were so proud, literally.”

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Officials pegged attendance at 500,000 people, while others said it hit an incredible 1 million mark.

“People were crying and screaming, ‘Thank you!’ just screaming the governor’s name,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who now plans to wed her longtime female partner.

Same-sex couples can begin pre-applying for a marriage license on July 5, and the marriages will begin on July 25. Depending on the demand, the City Clerk’s Office is prepared to extend its hours and hire additional judges to perform the ceremonies.

Passing the same-sex marriage law capped perhaps the most successful legislative session for a governor in Albany history.

In Cuomo’s first six months, he has delivered an on-time balanced budget, ethics reforms, renewed rent regulations and a cap on upstate and suburban property taxes.

But nothing had quite the impact of being the largest state to legalize same-sex marriages thus far, revelers said.

“It’s awesome. Cuomo has delivered on his promise, and if he ever runs for president, I’d vote for him,” said paradegoer Matthew Rosser, 37, of the Upper West Side.

Some romantics even dropped to one knee right there on the parade route.

“I just proposed to my partner!” said uniformed NYPD Officer Alicia Hernandez, who introduced her bride-to-be, Jenna, to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

“I was waiting for [the parade] on purpose,” Hernandez said, after popping the question at the end of the route at Christopher and Greenwich streets.

“Cuomo stuck to his word. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Erin Reilly, 22, of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, said she and her partner, Johanna Morales, 33, had vowed to be one of the first couples in line on July 25.

“We are elated!” Reilly said. “My gigantic family would not have been able to come to Vermont if the bill hadn’t passed.”

Meanwhile, some religious leaders spoke out against the law.

“I would have to say I was sad,” New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan said after morning Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. “We just don’t believe that marriage can be changed and radically altered to accommodate a particular lifestyle.”

Additional reporting by Lachlan Cartwright and Perry Chiaramonte