Edward Koch was an American politician, lawyer and film critic. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and became Mayor of New York in 1977. He was the 105th Mayor of New York and is considered one of New York's best mayors. York as he is credited. helping New York enter a period of fiscal dominance. Mayor Koch was seen as very supportive of gay and lesbian rights, but he is believed to have largely made mistakes in handling the AIDS epidemic during his time in office, for which some have still not forgiven him. He is credited with closing New York's gay bathhouses and straight sex clubs like Plato's Retreat in response to the AIDS epidemic, which was important in the fight for social justice, but was overall a failure. in its response to the AIDS crisis. Many people who knew Koch well thought he was gay, but he never came out publicly. At several key points in his political career, he strategically pretended to be heterosexual, including during his first mayoral campaign, when he appeared publicly alongside former Miss America Bess Myerson. This heterosexual charade seemed necessary to distract from whispers about his alleged homosexuality while he was running for office. Despite his downfalls, he is still considered one of New York City's great leaders and will always be remembered as such. many mourned his passing in February 2013. Human immunodeficiency virus infection/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system transmitted between people through the mixing of bodily fluids. It is an extremely deadly disease that has killed more than thirty-six mi...... middle of paper ......y, it is a disease where friends must stand by and watch their friends die. The number of deaths from AIDS could have been reduced, many believe, if it had been managed properly. Yet when you think about it from Mayor Koch's seat, there wasn't much he could have done. Koch never wrote or said anything malicious toward the AIDS community. Like many, he seemed to want to help but didn't know exactly how to do it properly. Every move anyone made regarding AIDS was brutally scrutinized by both sides of the world, so many politicians didn't know what they could do. The nature of this disease and its political ramifications highlight the prevailing idea that the sexual is political, because without the sexual nature of this scourge it would not have been so difficult to manage politically and millions of lives could have been saved..