Patrick Simeone and Francisco Fuertes were married by a town clerk in Manhasset, Sunday morning.
They married in Quebec three years ago and had considered themselves married since they met and moved in together in 1988.
They had a small ceremony with a handful of friends in front of Town Clerk Leslie Gross and planned to be back at "business as usual" Monday morning.
"To me, it was about time,"' said Fuertes, a 55-year-old operations director for a retail company.
Simeone, a stylist on Long Island's north shore, said he's only sorry it took New York so long to recognize same-sex marriage.
"It's such a leader in many different ways," he said.
After the ceremony, Simeone said that despite being together 23 years, he felt different.
"We're happily married," he said shortly after 1 a.m. "I feel more loving. Kinder, more tender, more loved."
