Actually, New York is just two state senators away. In this election, where the whole state senate is up for election, and the Republicans hold a one seat majority, as they have for essentially political eternity. (The two parties have more or less cooperated for decades to keep the Assembly in the hands of the Democrats and the Senate in the hands of the Republicans.)
If just two senate seats flip parties, the Democrats will control both legislative houses, which will enable them to pass a gay marriage law, something which Governor Patterson advocates and would sign.
Oddly enough, Governor Spitzer’s resignation made the Senate party switch a little more difficult, as the New York Constitution provides that the Lieutenant Governor casts the tiebreaking vote in the Senate, but with Patterson’s promotion, ties are broken by the majority leader as acting Lieutenant Governor, so if the chamber were tied, the current majority leader would be able to maintain Republican control. Prior to Spitzer’s resignation, therefore, only one seat needed to flip.
In any event, there’s a good chance that, with the right voting results, New York will legislatively enact same sex marriage soon after the new legislature is seated on January 1.