New York Activist
Bob Kohler Dies at 81

Bob Kohler, a longtime New York gay activist, Charles Street presence, and former owner of The Loft on Christopher Street, died of cancer on Wednesday. He was 81.

A native of Queens, Kohler was among protestors at 1969's Stonewall riots, co-founded the Gay Liberation Front and was a member of ACT UP, Fed Up Queers, Irish Queers, Sex Panic! and several other influential activist groups. He worked endlessly as an advocate for gay and transsexual rights, queer youth, and people suffering from AIDS or HIV.

After serving in the Navy in the South Pacific, Kohler returned to New York, where he worked in television and later founded an advertising agency, according to a biography written by Kohler's friends. He and his boyfriend Ed bought a home in Amagansett on Long Island, and they later moved to Bridgehampton, openly challenging the upscale hamlet's homophobia.

On the second night of the riots at Stonewall Inn, Kohler and other West Village residents founded the Gay Liberation Front, which some activists credited with sparking radicalism in the New York gay community. He quickly became a mentor to budding young activists, including Sylvia Rivera.

In the 1980s, Kohler fought to close New York's bathhouses to slow the spread of HIV, and, more recently he protested Mayor Rudy Giuliani's failure to provide housing for people with the virus.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced. A political march to commemorate Kohler will be held December 9 at 4 p.m., starting at the New York LGBT Community Center and proceeding up Christopher Street to Chelsea Piers. (The Advocate)