How former Mayor Ed Koch's secret -- that he was gay, affected both him personally, and how he handled the AIDS crisis.
Contents:
- NEW YORK TIM FALLY ADMS FORMER MAYOR ED KOCH WAS GAY NE YEARS AFTER HIS ATH
- ED KOCH DI: WAS FORMER NYC MAYOR GAY? BS MYERSON CAMPAIGN APPEARANC, RICHARD NATHAN FUELED RUMORS OF HOMOSEXUALY
- A PORTRA OF ED KOCH’S SECRET GAY LIFE
- WAS FORMER MAYOR ED KOCH GAY?
NEW YORK TIM FALLY ADMS FORMER MAYOR ED KOCH WAS GAY NE YEARS AFTER HIS ATH
A recent New York Tim article asks whether the fact that Ed Koch was gay and closeted kept him om rpondg to the AIDS crisis timely fashn. * ed koch gay lover *
But as open as Koch uld be, my lleagu Matt Flegenheimer and Rosa Golnsohn wrote a new profile of him, he straed to nceal one aspect of his life: He was gay. It’s hard to ’s a meetg he had wh the Gay Men’s Health Crisis lears. But when they did, Leonard Bloom, who was on the board of Gay Men’s Health Crisis, told that Koch was credibly unfortable.
Even though nobody the room asked, Koch felt pelled to say to his senr team, “I am not a homosexual. Gettg outed seemed like an existential threat to belonged to maybe the last generatn of New York policians for whom beg openly gay was polilly had a mpaign nsultant who ma homophobic remarks and mand to know if the mors were te.
But when gay iends of his would nudge him and then enurage him to e out later life, Koch would jt say, “I don’t want to. As a gay man, I appreciated seeg what people like me went through for gay rights — mak me regnize what I ’s a real sadns to .
ED KOCH DI: WAS FORMER NYC MAYOR GAY? BS MYERSON CAMPAIGN APPEARANC, RICHARD NATHAN FUELED RUMORS OF HOMOSEXUALY
Ed Koch’s unwillgns to speak about his personal life led to mors that the former three-term New York Cy mayor was gay. * ed koch gay lover *
"It's none of your f---g bs, " the lifelong bachelor fired back when asked if he was gay or straight durg filmg of "Koch, " a documentary recently produced about his answer to the oft-bated topic of Koch's sexualy will acpany the former mayor to his grave — though the loquac polician managed to liver a post-mortem shot at an old rival on the a nasty 1977 Democratic mayoral primary mpaign between Koch and Mar Cuomo, polil signs appeared Queens that read: "Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo.
"Koch was a Congrsman om Greenwich Village when the Stonewall rts of 1969 spawned the gay-rights movement, and changed Koch's ascendant polil star saw him serve three terms Cy Hall durg the era of the AIDS crisis and the stggle for gay rights, qutns about the mayor's sexualy never seemed to go he first ran for Cy Hall 1977, opposg Cuomo for the Democratic nomatn, Koch equently mpaigned wh former Miss Ameri Bs Myerson at his si — a move wily viewed as a unterattack agast the persistent whispers of the ndidate's homosexualy. "No, I am not a homosexual, " Koch said at the time.
A PORTRA OF ED KOCH’S SECRET GAY LIFE
To the Edor: Re “The Secrets Ed Koch Carried” (ont page, May 8): I read about former Mayor Ed Koch’s closeted state of md wh a mixture of anger and sadns. As a gay psychiatrist who, ... * ed koch gay lover *
"If I were a homosexual, I would hope I would have the urage to say so. What's cel is that you are forcg me to say I am not a homosexual. "This means you are puttg homosexuals down.
"Koch wouldn't have won whout Bs, " Garth told New York Magaze a , shown here his younger years, thought would be gradg to gays if he answered persistent qutns about his sexualy by sayg he was not gay. 'This means you are puttg homosexuals down.
WAS FORMER MAYOR ED KOCH GAY?
"But Koch unabashedly fend his rerd on gay rights and his support of the gay 1984, he beme the first mayor to march the cy's Gay Pri Para. He also boasted of appotg gay judg and troducg a bill Congrs wh former New York Rep. Ne years after his ath, The New York Tim has fally gotten around to admtg that former New York Cy Mayor Ed Koch was gay.
That Koch was gay wasn’t exactly a secret. Ined, Mar Cuomo, his rival the electn, nied was behd mpaign signs that read “Vote for Cuomo, not the homo.
Still, at the time, Koch was a ngrsman for the Wt Village, one of the gayt districts the natn. “I don’t happen to be homosexual, ” he told a rad statn. His advisers saw AIDS as a gay issue and wanted to protect Koch at all sts.