"Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo" Flyer resurfaces

This mailer is reportedly from the 1982 gubernatorial campaign, but the discriminatory slogan actually dates back to the 1977 Democratic Party primary race for New York City mayor

blast from the past 1982 Race for Governor the infamous Vote for Cuomo not the Homo mailer @azi @bobhardt @fud31 pic.twitter.com/iMVP6XpnDH

— VJ Machiavelli (@VJMachiavelli) November 14, 2014

For all of former Mayor Koch's internalised self-loathing as a closeted gay man, how much of former Mayor Koch's slow HIV/AIDS response should be attributable to the Cuomo campaign's fear-baiting tactics against former Mayor Koch ? From Progress Queens : A photograph was posted to Twitter of a flyer from the 1982 New York gubernatorial race bearing the slogan, "Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo," triggering remembrances and questions about the controversial campaign efforts by Andrew Cuomo to smear Ed Koch. The offensive slogan originally dates back to the Democratic Party primary in the 1977 New York City mayoral race when the two were political rivals running for the same office, but the Cuomo camp used the slogan again during the lingering whisper campaign five years later, in the 1982 New York gubernatorial race, as evidenced by the photo of the handbill.

RELATED Three decades later, "Vote For Cuomo, Not The Homo" mailer resurfaces (Progress Queens)

Seeking to fluff his sagging reelection campaign, Gov. Cuomo exploits AIDS epidemic for votes

PUBLISHED : SUN, 29 JUN 2014, 07:52 PM
UPDATED : MON, 30 JUN 2014, 12:10 PM

It's been 25 years since Andrew Cuomo led the charge on an AIDS initiative.

RELATED Cuomo Plan Seeks to End New York’s AIDS Epidemic (The New York Times)

Gov. Cuomo is paying for the stepped up fight against AIDS by having first made radical cuts to Medicaid and and by hospital closings. This week-end, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans to end the AIDS epidemic in New York State by the year 2020. How nice of him to revisit the AIDS crisis after a 25 year sabbatical. The last time Andrew Cuomo spearheaded an AIDS initiative was in 1989, when he led the charge to build a segregated health facility for people with AIDS. This was at a time when there was a rise in AIDS phobia, and it seemed like putting people with AIDS into isolation or in sub-par health facility situations was another form of reactionary discrimination. It's difficult to know how much money Gov. Cuomo is dedicating to his plan to end AIDS. In an article in The New York Times, the Cuomo administration said $5 million has been set aside from Medicaid and the state's AIDS Institute. But according to information on the Housing Works Web site, the Cuomo administration proposed to cut $12 million from the AIDS Institute in the new budget. Ooops ! It's great that Gov. Cuomo wants to join with healthcare activists to end the AIDS epidemic. But, the last time Gov. Cuomo made healthcare promises, he promised to save hospitals in Brooklyn. But then he let Long Island College Hospital close down. Ooops ! Besides people with AIDS, people of color have been calling on Gov. Cuomo to do the right thing on healthcare. As a gay man, I'd love nothing more than to see an end to the AIDS epidemic. Why Gov. Cuomo's plan is coming 25 years too late, and why he's paying for it by closing more and more Brooklyn hospitals is not clear. What is clear is that Gov. Cuomo's announcement was timed for today's Gay Pride Parade, giving the governor an opportunity to hand-out all these campaign-looking signs to parade supporters to hold up for the cameras. How thoughtful. He must be looking for votes. But I wonder how many lives could have been saved if decades ago "LGBT for Cuomo" were the campaign signs being used, instead of "Vote for Cuomo, not the Homo."

Forty years after Rep. Abzug filed Equality Act of 1974, LGBT elected officials lack such vision

40th Anniversary of the filing of the proposed Equality Act of 1974

From Queer Nation NY :

Forty years ago today, Bella Abzug quietly introduced legislation in the House that would have added sexual orientation to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. With a single reference in the Congressional Record reading “H.R. 14752. A bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, and sexual orientation, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary,” Abzug made the very bold statement that lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are entitled to the same rights and protections that are extended to every other American. That statement is as bold and as true today as it was 40 years ago.

• RELATED : On 40th Anniversary of the filing of the proposed Equality Act of 1974, Queer Nation NY reiterates its demand for comprehensive federal LGBT civil rights legislation (Facebook)

The next year, Abzug took to the House floor to introduce the legislation again.

“This bill would insure that gay individuals would be entitled to jobs, to housing, to education, to utilization of public accommodations, to participation in federally assisted programs, on the same basis as other Americans and would be provided with a legal remedy if such rights and opportunities were denied to them,” the New York Democrat said in 1975.

"What is at issue here is equal rights for all Americans,” she said. “Equal protection of the laws and respect for the rights of individuals are fundamental principles of our Constitution. I have long been a proponent of measures which would insure that these principles are guaranteed for all individuals -- women as well as men, married individuals as well as those who are unmarried, people of every nationality, ethnic groups, race, or religion. Likewise, sexual orientation should be no barrier to equal treatment under the law."

In 2014, our political leaders lack such a vision. They consider only what they believe can be won using focus group-tested rhetoric and slick ad campaigns. Their views are driven by polling and what the Democratic and Republican parties will tolerate. And so they will spend millions to enact legislation such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that only bans employment discrimination and has religious exemptions that are so broad that our leading legal groups have refused to support it.

What remains true, whether any poll produces this result or not, is that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans are equal in every way and in all things to every other American. The sole exception to this principle, which is rooted in the founding documents of this nation and in the founding of our community, is that we are not equal before the law.

ENDA will not make us equal before the law. On the contrary, its religious exemption will enshrine discrimination in federal law and guarantee that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people will continue to experience discrimination in employment.

Only comprehensive federal civil rights legislation will make us equal under the law. It is time for us to seek that and to win that.

Bill de Blasio never got back to me about his AIDS platform in August

Did Bill de Blasio exploit the LGBT community for votes, only to dump core community issues now that he's gotten elected ?

After mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio took advantage of a few LGBT celebrities to undermine Christine Quinn's LGBT base of support, it appears that Mr. de Blasio was all talk and no action.

After several attempts at getting a meeting with Mr. de Blasio, who will be sworn in as the next mayor of New York City in just two hours, word comes forth of a planned protest by ACT UP at the mayor-elect's public swearing-in ceremony, it seems that the mayor-elect has brushed off any sincerity about proposing a truly reform agenda to help end the decades of official municipal neglect on a core LGBT issue: ending the HIV/AIDS crisis.

➔ RSVP : ACT UP Protests Bill de Blasio's Mayoral Inauguration

Below is the unanswered e-mail I sent to the de Blasio campaign. I was later told by supporters/enablers that I was too controversial of an activist for Mr. de Blasio to ever respond to my query.

Not enough attention has been paid to all of President Barack Obama's political operatives, who have had hand in the mayor elect's campaign and transition teams. The mayor elect's exploitation of the LGBT voting block resembles President Obama's corrupt playbook. Candidate Obama promised to pass comprehensive LGBT workplace protections, but has thus far refused to sign a presidential executive order. Former President Bill Clinton famously curried the LGBT vote, only to betray the LGBT community by passing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and enacting the military's discriminatory policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

When will the LGBT community wake up and stop getting exploited for cheap election year gimmicks ?

Begin forwarded message:

From: "LF (g-Male)"
Subject: Ed Koch and HIV/AIDS
Date: 1 août 2013 15:49:42 UTC-04:00
To: bill@billdeblasio.com, veday1945@aol.com
Cc: "LF (g-Male)"


Hi,

I saw on the Internet that Bill de Blasio praised former NYC Mayor Ed Koch as one of our "greatest mayor" :

http://politicker.com/2013/02/bill-de-blasio-is-a-little-sick-of-bloombergs-royal-reign/

I hope you know that Ed Koch is seen as a failed LGBT leader for having done nothing to stop the initial outbreak of HIV from becoming the AIDS pandemic we all now know. Because he was afraid to come out of the closet, he let thousands of people die, especially gay men. Former Mayor Koch refused to take bold action during the 1980's out of fear of being associated with gay issues. He was and still is seen as a self-hating, closeted gay man.

So, it seemed astounding that Mr. de Blasio would praise former Mayor Koch.

If Mr. de Blasio is going to try to court the LGBT vote, we hope to hear from him soon about details of his plans to step up HIV/AIDS prevention, improving access to prevention/treatment medication, and other steps that he plans to take as part of his HIV/AIDS plan.

I'm writing this note independently, but I plan to share it with a few activists. So, I plan to share your response with some of my activist friends, too.

Thanks,
-- Louis


Louis Flores
1 (646) 400-1168
lflores22@gmail.com

Bill de Blasio appoints AIDS criminal to advisory post

Bill de Blasio just appointed Stanley Brezenoff, who formerly ran the city's Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) during the 1980's under the late Mayor Ed Koch, to be an unpaid advisor to the First Deputy Mayor. This is the same man, who did shit under Mayor Koch to fight AIDS.

Stanley Brezenoff, who did nothing to help stop AIDS crisis under closet-case Mayor Koch. @gracerauh @actupny

— de Blasio Sold Out (@deBlasioSoldOut) December 31, 2013

Scott Levenson, who has close ties to Bill de Blasio, was paid to defeat several LGBT City Council Candidates

Sign our Change.org Petition : Bill de Blasio : Do not attend NYCLASS fundraiser to benefit Scott Levenson

WATCH : Will LGBT Groups Protest Scott Levenson for Anti-Gay Attack Ads ? (YouTube)

@boldprogressnyc @HRC @maslowsneeds Are you asking if Democrats overlook behavior in Democrats for which they'd pillory Republicans? Yes : (

— Charmian Neary (@CharmianNeary) November 21, 2013

The Advance Group, which is providing unpaid consultants to Mark-Viverito, worked for the City Action Coalition PAC, which lists 'traditional marriage' as its platform and supported opponents of gay City Council candidates. (The New York Daily News)

Did Scott Levenson sabotage LGBT civil rights attorney Yetta Kurland's political campaign ? (Scott Levenson : Biggest Loser Of The Week * NY Pop Culture & Politics)

E-mail me if you would like to plan a protest against Scott Levenson : louisflores (at) louisflores (dot) com

… the Advance Group's work on behalf of City Action Coalition-backed candidates conflicted with its work for two of its own council clients. And the outside work for the teachers union raises another potential conflict: the Advance Group not only produced mailers promoting Manhattan council candidate Yetta Kurland for the NYCLASS independent expenditure, but Strategic Consultants produced mailers touting her opponent, Corey Johnson, that were paid for by the teachers union. Mr. Johnson won the primary. (Teachers union paid $370K to fake consultant * Crain's Insider)

Why aren't the LGBT civil rights activists protesting against Scott Levenson and his "anti-gay agenda" ? And how can LGBT civil rights activists stay quiet while Ms. Mark-Viverito uses a political consulting operation that hires itself out to work against candidates specifically based on their identity ? This is discrimination and prejudice. How can Mr. Levenson and Ms. Mark-Viverito call themselves "progressives," yet enable bigotry ?

Quinn Betrays AIDS Activists In Exchange For Manufactured Koch Endorsement

In act of desperation, Quinn camp goes digging for endorsement from Ed Koch beyond the grave.

Christine Quinn has become so desperate for campaign endorsements that she is going to get one out of a dead man. Let's hope she doesn't try to get some votes the same way, too. She's already trying to fake her popularity with sock puppet Twitter accounts, mind you. But seriously, Ed Koch, whose endorsement she is seeking, was the beginning of the neoliberalism bent in Democratic policies. One needs to look no further than to the cruel betrayal in Mayor Koch's non-response to the AIDS crisis. Mayor Koch refused to take any meaningful action on HIV/AIDS out of fear that he would be outed as a gay man. What kind of a message is Speaker Quinn trying to send by reaching for this grave endorsement ? Mayor Koch's endorsement in encumbered with betrayal and closet politics. This one issue alone should be a clarion call for every New York City LGBT voter to question Speaker Quinn's judgement. How do AIDS activists feel about being thrown under the bus in exchange for an endorsement from the late Mayor Koch ? (Ed Koch’s Sister to Amplify His Support for Christine Quinn * NYTimes)

Will insensitive and revisionist statements like this, from the Quinn campaign, drive LGBT activists to demonstrate against Christine Quinn during Pride Month ?

“Ed Koch was an incredible leader for the city,” said Josh Isay, Ms. Quinn’s chief strategist.

Related : Ed Koch, 88, Dies : "How Am I Doing ?" AIDS Memorial Reality Check

Christine Quinn's History Of Using Hate Crimes For Political Gain

From The Village Voice :

"... the prospect of Quinn's active participation in the march provoked a sort of counter-protest by a small contingent of activists who are unimpressed with Quinn's record. As the main rally moved south on Greenwich Avenue, marchers passed a tiny contingent of activists holding up a sign on the island intersection at Seventh Avenue. 'We need a hospital, we don't need condos,' it read. The side-vigil raised the question of why Carson was taken to Beth Israel, on First Avenue, and whether he could have been saved if he was treated nearby. The handful of activists standing in the shadow of the building that used to be St. Vincent's Hospital, now being converted into 350 luxury condo units, criticized Quinn for signing off on the zoning change that made this development possible, even though the City Council speaker's brand had been stamped all over the larger march itself."

Did New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn cancel her planned political exploitation of Monday night's Mark Carson vigil, after The Village Voice and Michael Petrelis exposed these concerns ?

Speaker Quinn has a history of exploiting tragedy for political gain.

Earlier this year, after former mayor Ed Koch passed away, Speaker Quinn's campaign staff were trying to figure out how to exploit Mayor Koch's endorsement of Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign, even after he had died -- and he was no longer around to approve of the campaign's messaging.

And in 1998, while she was in her first political campaign to be elected to the City Council, Ms. Quinn was using a spike in bias crimes against the LGBT community as an excuse to call for canceling that year's annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade.

SIDEBAR : Please watch this video, which I just discovered this morning, which explains why it might be more accurate to describe the discrimination against the LGBTQ community as "heterosexual-supremacy" instead of using the term "homophobia."

Is this how Bill Rudin does business ?

In exchange for $30,000 in campaign donations, did New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn sell out her community ?

To Preet Bharara : Do @chriscquinn's official acts come as a result of campaign donations ? christine-quinn-sold-out.blogspot.com/2011/02/rudin-… #StVincentsHospital

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) April 4, 2013

In 2009, Bill Rudin and New York City Planner Amanda Burden were photographed at the same plush "Observer 100" party to celebrate money, power, and influence. In spite of their cozy relationship, Ms. Burden did not recuse herself during the zone-busting approval process for Mr. Rudin's billion-dollar luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital. There is no such thing as a conflict of interest in New York City government, and the Department of Investigation is a joke.

The conflict of interest in respect of Ms. Burden paints a pattern of how Bill Rudin does business. Mr. Rudin also participated in an arrangement with the appearance of being a quid pro quo with former mayor Ed Koch.

Rudin family offered #EdKoch posh apartment.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/nyr… ; Koch promoted Rudin condo plan for #StVincent's. dnainfo.com/new-york/20110…

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 3, 2013

But Ms. Burden and Mr. Koch were not alone in compromising the integrity of the government approval process that stacked the deck in favour of Mr. Rudin's devastating zone-busting plan, which seized a charitable community hospital as the site for his billion-dollar luxury condo conversion plan.

Did Christine Quinn Give Up On Saving St. Vincent's In Exchange for Campaign Donations From The Rudin Family ?

In an apparent conflict of interest, Beth R. DeWoody, Madeleine R. Johnson, Eric C. Rudin, Jack Rudin, Katherine Rudin, and William C. Rudin each donated $4,950 to Christine Quinn's presumed 2013 mayoral campaign. Not only did Speaker Quinn say that we only needed an urgent care center to replace St. Vincent's, but she approved the Rudin family's plan, allowing St. Vincent's Hospital to be rezoned into luxury condos. Since 2010, the Rudin family has been trying to get approval for a billion-dollar real estate development plan for the buildings that belong to the bankruptcy estate of St. Vincent's Hospital. Since the Rudin family wants to build luxury high-rise condos on the site of St. Vincent's, and since they needed City Council approval from Speaker Quinn, do these large campaign donations explain why Speaker Quinn did nothing to restore a Level I trauma center and full-service hospital to the former St. Vincent's site ? Does Speaker Quinn's official acts come as a result of sizable campaign donations from the likes of the Rudin family ?

Does Bill Rudin use the Association For A Better New York to further his economic interests ?

Not only has Bill Rudin and his family funneled money to the mayoral campaign of Christine Quinn, but he also helps to fluff Speaker Quinn's image in the media. Mr. Rudin put Speaker Quinn on the podium to give her a venue to talk about the post-Sandy real estate projects, from which developers are eager to make money. The emergency response to Hurricane Sandy was still on-going at the time of Speaker Quinn's speech, but the political and economic opportunism was shown to be in full swing.

Does Bill Rudin use the Partnership For New York City to further his economic interests ?

Another vehicle, which Mr. Rudin uses to great effect, is his position as a director of the Partnership For New York City, an elite chamber of commerce-like entity, which helps billionaires and large corporations buy insider influence with government leaders.

For example, while Brad Hoylman was chairman of Manhattan Community Board 2, which was overseeing the initial elements of the zone-busting real estate approval process for the luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital, Mr. Hoylman was then employed by Mr. Rudin's Partnership.

Of course, if you were Bill Rudin, you would look successful if you had the resources, the conflicts of interest, the malfeasance, and the gall to corrupt so much of the government for your own personal gain.

The Wrath of Quinn : Endorse Her Or Else No Slush Funds For You !

City Council Members Fear Budget Revenge if They Don't Endorse Quinn

From DNA Info :

Many City Council members are wary of endorsing candidates in the 2013 mayoral race until after budget season because they're afraid a vengeful Speaker Christine Quinn will cut their share of $50 million in discretionary funds, DNAinfo.com New York has learned.

The funds, which are controlled by the speaker, are dished out to members each summer to fund constituent-pleasing services, such as community centers and seniors programs. While Quinn’s office has long insisted that the money is allocated based on districts' needs, it’s no secret that members on Quinn’s good side tend to profit — while those who cross her get their budgets slashed.

And many Council members now worry that endorsing a rival in the mayor's race, where Quinn is widely perceived as the front-runner, will result in the same fate.

“I definitely think that discretionary funds will be wielded as a weapon in the fight for endorsements,” said one Democratic Council member, who, like nearly a dozen others who spoke to DNAinfo.com New York, asked for anonymity to avoid angering Quinn.

“Certainly, that is the elephant in the room,” another member said.

“It’s a legal form of blackmail," still another member said.

To avoid retribution, some Council members are weighing postponing their endorsements until July, after the budget is adopted and Quinn no longer has sway over the money.

See also : Endorse Quinn - or else ! (via Queens Crap)

Christine Quinn is looking for endorsements and voters in the cemetery

Reality Sets In For Quinn, Isay : Early Poll Numbers Are An Illusion.

Greg David: "The idea that Ms. Quinn is the front-runner is a media fallacy." Via @crainsnewyork crainsnewyork.com/article/201302…

— Errol Louis (@errollouis) February 20, 2013

More and more, the Christine Quinn mayoral campaign are acting desperate.

Greg David published an editorial in Crain's New York Business giving everybody a reality check : The early polls portraying that Council Speaker Christine Quinn was an early leader in the crowded Democratic primary field are a fallacy !

Because Josh Isay, Matt Tepper, and Speaker Quinn's other campaign advisers know this, they are pulling out all the stops to maintain a public veneer of being in a leadership position, when in reality they could be further from it.

Earlier today, The New York Times published an article about how Speaker Quinn is now trolling through cemeteries and crematoriums for campaign endorsements. Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign is trying to figure out how to milk the endorsement she received from Ed Koch before he died. (An Endorsement Hard to Pass Up, and Harder to Promote)

''The idea that Ms. Quinn is the front-runner is a media fallacy,'' wrote Mr. David.

How low can Speaker Quinn go, for an endorsement ?

“If I were running against her, what do you say? ‘How low will she go, six feet under, or more?’ ” quipped Kenneth Sherrill, a political science professor at Hunter College. “The question is, how voters will respond to it, what they will think of a candidate who uses it.”

If Mr. Isay and Mr. Tepper try to push former Mayor Koch's endorsement of Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign, then Speaker Quinn risks triggering a major backlash from LGBT political and healthcare activists.

David France, Ed Koch, and AIDS

David France, whose doc How To Survive A Plague is nominated for Oscar, speaks about former NY mayor Ed Koch, who reviewed the film for a local NY paper and who was not an advocate for Gay NY back in the day.

Closeted Mayor Will Eulogise Another

At tomorrow's funeral service, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to deliver the eulogy for former Mayor Ed Koch, who passed away on Friday at the age of 88.

Mayor Koch has been the subject of harsh criticism on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media Web sites since his death, for what critics see as his damning role in the spread of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980's, while he was mayor.

It's more than just a bit ironic that Mayor Bloomberg, who some say is gay, will eulogise Mayor Koch.

At tomorrow's service for #EdKoch, one #closeted mayor will eulogize another. Or will @mikebloomberg use occasion to finally come out ?

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 3, 2013

To distract from his sexual orientation, Mayor Koch made a game of appearing to have had a pretense of a relationship with former Miss America Bess Myerson, whilst Mayor Bloomberg uses Diana Taylor for similar purposes.

No word, yet, as to the subject of Mayor Bloomberg's farewell remarks.

Ed Koch and the AIDS Crisis - A Historical Fact Checking Duel Between NYT and YouTube Videos

In response to the biased "praises" and instant beatification of Ed Koch, I made a YouTube video set to music by Dalida, to help visualise former Mayor Ed Koch's complete failure on the AIDS crisis.

My video was made in response to the video promoted by The New York Times, which whitewashes any responsibility or culpability of the AIDS crisis away from former Mayor Ed Koch :

I'd love to hear what folks think ?

Ed Koch, the Closet, Neoliberalism, and AIDS

From The Nation

The instant beatification of former New York City Mayor Ed Koch has a lot of folks itching to do some grave dancing. Leftists will denounce Koch because he was one of the original neoliberal mayors, ushering in a regime of gentrification and finance-driven inequality that defines the city to this day. Minorities regard him with suspicion because he marginalized the city’s black and Hispanic leadership and inflamed racial fault lines to corner the white vote, presaging the Sister Souljah moments that would come to afflict the national Democratic Party. And yet even there, among the new Democrats, Koch was never a stalwart, breaking with the party to endorse George W. Bush for president in 2004 and flirting with the neocons over Israel late in his life.

All that said, there is a special place reserved for Koch in gay hell—because he was mayor during the onset of the AIDS epidemic, which he is widely seen as failing to do enough about, and because it’s commonly assumed that Koch was a closeted gay man. “I hope he’s burning next to Roy Cohn”—or sentiments quite like it—have appeared frequently on my Facebook feed, especially from vets of ACT UP. ...

Read more : Ed Koch and the Cost of the Closet (The Nation)

Ed Koch dies unforgiven by AIDS activists (except by Christine Quinn, who is turning his death into a crass voter outreach opportunity).

@chriscquinn Don't let history sanitize the past. #EdKoch was silent while 1000's of LGBT NY-ers fought and died from AIDS. @tlrd @joemygod

— ACT UP New York (@actupny) February 2, 2013

From Gay Star News :

After lesbian NYC mayoral candidate Christine C. Quinn released a statement calling Koch a 'great mayor' and a 'great man,' LGBT activists pounced. Among those critical of Quinn is Peter Staley, one of the key members of ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) whose activism and innovation is credited with playing a crucial role in HIV-AIDS going from a death sentence to a manageable condition with the help of certain drugs.

'I'm supporting Christine Quinn for mayor, but this mass email she just sent out is completely tone deaf to the generation of gay New Yorkers who worked tirelessly to throw (Koch) out of office (and we succeeded),' Staley writes in a Facebook post. 'We will never forget his contemptible legacy of neglect during the early years of the HIV/AIDS crisis.'

Read more : Former New York Mayor Ed Koch dies at 88 unforgiven by AIDS activists. Many say he was closeted gay man who didn’t do anything on AIDS when his constituents were dying of disease.

I'm a supporter, but @chriscquinn's mass email is tone deaf to the gen. of gay NYers who fought Koch's AIDS neglect twitter.com/peterstaley/st…

— Peter Staley (@peterstaley) February 1, 2013

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

REALITY CHECK : Christine Quinn is not tone deaf. Instead, she is taking for granted that the LGBT community will vote for her. Therefore, she is taking us for granted. She is playing politics with Mayor Koch's AIDS responsibility in order to appeal to voters in the run-up to this election year. When will people wake up to this fact ?

@chriscquinn I'm a bit shocked by this.Koch is a TRAITOR to New Yorkers and Democrats.He can rot in hell for all I care.

— New Yorker (@vesnawasrobbed) February 1, 2013

Ed Koch, 88, Dies - AIDS Controversy - Memorial Tweets

I'm a supporter, but @chriscquinn's mass email is tone deaf to the gen. of gay NYers who fought Koch's AIDS neglect twitter.com/peterstaley/st…

— Peter Staley (@peterstaley) February 1, 2013

Closeted Former NYC Mayor #EdKoch Reviews @surviveaplague joemygod.blogspot.com/2012/10/closet… #HIV #AIDS @actupny @joemygod twitter.com/stopchrisquinn…

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 1, 2013

Ed Koch did more to spread HIV/AIDS than Patient Zero. This is a disgusting, abhorrent human being who was granted one thing...(cont)

— Kenny Sullivan (@kennysullivan) February 1, 2013

...he denied thousands if his gay citizens: the gift of time.

— Kenny Sullivan (@kennysullivan) February 1, 2013

Ex Mayor #EdKoch died today.Let tens of thousands die from #AIDS, supported @mikebloomberg, @chriscquinn, #RayKelly, and #stopandfrisk. RIP

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 1, 2013

The New York Times obit of Ed Koch has ONE fleeting reference to the AIDS epidemic, and nothing about what he did/didn't do. Pathetic.

— Jake S (@JakeMHS) February 1, 2013

Ed Koch's passing is almost as sad as how he ignored the HIV/AIDS crisis in NYC in the 80's.

— Scot Rose (@ScotRoseYaBoat) February 1, 2013

Ed Koch died. Mixed feelings. Sad for his family's loss. Still some anger over how he refused to deal with AIDS crisis.

— Abby, Queen of All (@abby_queenofall) February 1, 2013

Very curious what longtime #AIDS & #gay rights activist Larry Kramer will say on the passing of former NYC Mayor Ed Koch. @surviveaplague

— Ian Thompson (@iantDC) February 1, 2013

Central Park 5 Rally At Foley Square

Late this afternoon, a rally took place to honour and support the "Central Park Five," a group of young, innocent men, who were wrongly convicted of a crime that they did not commit.

"Media coverage at the time portrayed the teens as guilty, and used racially coded terms like wolf pack to refer to the group of boys accused in the attack. Donald Trump took out full-page ads in four city newspapers calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty so they could be executed. However, the convictions of the five were vacated in 2002 when the real rapist came forward and confessed to the crime, after the five defendants had already served sentences of almost seven to 13 years. New York City is refusing to settle a decade-long civil lawsuit brought by the men," reported Democracy Now!

Today's rally took place in Foley Square, near the federal courthouse. Amongst the supporters for this rally were members of Occu Evolve.

Five innocent Black and Latino teenagers were wrongly arrested, tried, and convicted in a sensational case known as the "Central Park Jogger."

Among the issues compounding the injustice that befell the Central Park 5 are that the Bloomberg administration refuses to settle the civil lawsuits brought by the innocent men whilst at the same time demands documentary footage that would violate the First Amendment rights of the documentary filmmakers behind the film, "The Central Park Five."

Ed Koch Endorses Fracking, Wants To Emulate Saudi Arabia

Scientific Study Links Flammable Drinking Water to Fracking

Ed Koch just called fracking the most ''liberating'' industry for New York State on NY1 tonight, because it would make New York into Saudi Arabia.

One of my Facebook friends wrote that maybe what Mr. Koch believes he sees as our future shared similarity is this : very little drinking water.

For Luxury Condo Conversion of St. Vincent's, William Rudin Hires Rentboy of New York City Politics : Ed Koch

Quid Pro Quo : After City Council Speaker Christine Quinn renames the Queensboro Bridge after former Mayor Ed Koch, the former mayor all of a sudden turns up as the temp-to-hire chairman of an astroturf-front group being paid for by the Rudin family, not unlike evil Wisconsin front groups that are union-busters.

In a brilliant YouTube video, the artist and political commentator Suzannah B. Troy compares former mayor Ed Koch to Snooki, seeing as how each celebrity can be hired to show up at night club parties -- or at luxury condo conversions of St. Vincent's Hospital -- if the price is right.

If you haven't yet checked it out, look at how the Rudin family has already managed to rent Christine Quinn.