A rally against the measure was held in the Bronx along the Grand Concourse
.Organized by the National Organization for Marriage, participants say the demonstration was held to call for the preservation of traditional marriage, or the union of one man and one woman.
State Senator Ruben Diaz Senior, a vocal opponent of gay marriage, was among those who addressed the crowd.
In Manhattan, supporters of gay marriage gathered to call for equal rights.
They gathered along the sidelines of the AIDS walk route near Riverside Park with a cardboard cut-out depicting Diaz as a drag queen.
"The Bronx has the highest rate of HIV in all of the boroughs in Manhattan and also was the location of the biggest gay bashing a few months ago and so Ruben Diaz is deciding to hold a hate rally in the Bronx instead of rallying for his own constituents," said one same-sex marriage supporter.
Diaz's lesbian granddaughter is among those showing her support for same-sex marriage.
