ED Koch is upset over a new documentary, “Outrage” — not because it claims he had “a well-established affair with a man he subsequently ran out of town,” as Variety reported yesterday, but because it claims “his record on AIDS and gay rights was virtually nonexistent.”
The former mayor is proud of his record on AIDS and gay rights and accuses filmmaker Kirby Dick — a proponent of outing closeted politicians — of revising history.
“It’s a [bleep]ing outrage,” Koch told Page Six yesterday. “Bella Abzug and I, in the early ’70s, introduced in Congress a bill that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation.”
When he was elected mayor in 1977, one of his first acts was to ban such discrimination by city agencies. “And when we later said the law applied to contractors doing business with the city, the Catholic Church and the Salvation Army sued me,” Koch said.
“In 1984, I was the first mayor to march in the Gay Pride Parade. I was the first mayor to appoint openly gay judges . . .” There was plenty more.
But what about the assertions of David Rotherberg, the first gay candidate for City Council, who claims in “Outrage” that Koch and a man named Dick Nathan were an established couple during Koch’s years in Congress until Koch dumped him when he ran for mayor, often with former Miss America Beth Myerson by his side? Nathan died of AIDS in 1996.
“Dick Nathan was a fine guy. We were friends,” Koch said. “He wanted to be a commissioner in my administration.” But Koch decided to stick with a very capable woman he’d inherited from the previous administration of Abe Beame. “He [Nathan] got mad and left town,” Koch said.
Koch won’t ever answer when asked if he’s gay. “Are you married?” he’ll typically ask the questioner. If the answer is yes, he’ll come back with, “When was the last time you committed oral sex on your spouse? Don’t answer that. It’s no one’s business.”