[2] At the ceremony, Smith declared that he “pray[ed to] God it may stand here through the ages as a testimonial to the people of this great commonwealth.”[2] The building opened in October 1930, and was originally home to the New York State Departments of Taxation, Finance, and Motor Vehicles.

[1] The City moved the Manhattan Marriage Bureau to the Lefkowitz Building's ornate first floor lobby in order to better compete with wedding destinations such as Las Vegas.

[4] These matrimonial duties later rendered the Lefkowitz a monument to LGBTQ New Yorkers, as 293 couples wed there on the day same-sex marriage became legal in 2011.

[5][6] In August 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Department of Correction announced a plan to renovate or demolish the Lefkowitz Building, making way for an expanded jail, as part of its plan to close Rikers Island.

[8][9] “Though marriage is supposed to be forever, Mayor de Blasio wants to give this temple of love an ugly divorce,” wrote preservationist Adrian Untermyer in Gotham Gazette.