RIP Mayor Koch

Former NY mayor Ed Koch was one of a kind:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/ny....html?hp&_r=1&

He was one of my favorite NY personalities.

My kind of Democrat; my mayor in the 1970s - 80s...........

Set between the destructive Lindsley and inept Dinkins; Koch was a stand out mayor....

He was very accessible guy; it wasn't unusual to see him out and about in NY.....

His brand of politics will be missed.

Ed Koch was one of the last of the old school John Kennedy, Harry Truman Democrats. He was left of center but still a patriot.

Koch voted for George W Bush in 2004 because of his concerns about terrorism.

A memorable Koch moment............

.....

Suddenly inspired to do something brash about the rare transit strike that crippled the city in 1980, Koch strode down to the Brooklyn Bridge to encourage commuters who were forced to walk to work instead of jumping aboard subway trains and buses.

"I began to yell, 'Walk over the bridge! Walk over the bridge! We're not going to let these bastards bring us to our knees!' And people began to applaud....

USA Today has a very nice piece on Koch...worth a read..

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...-dies/1882459/

He was a grand showman on the great stage of Manhattan..........

A memorable Koch moment............

.....

Suddenly inspired to do something brash about the rare transit strike that crippled the city in 1980, Koch strode down to the Brooklyn Bridge to encourage commuters who were forced to walk to work instead of jumping aboard subway trains and buses.

"I began to yell, 'Walk over the bridge! Walk over the bridge! We're not going to let these bastards bring us to our knees!' And people began to applaud....

USA Today has a very nice piece on Koch...worth a read..

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...-dies/1882459/ Originally Posted by Whirlaway

Incredible, a Democrat calling union members bastards. You'll never hear a modern day Democrat ever criticize anything done by unions. Can you imagine Obama calling union transit workers bastards?

RIP Ed ..

" How am I doing? "

You don't look too good Ed.

Great man, fun and intelligent. There aren't many politicians like him left.

Koch, the movie.........

trailer here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-rgezvFzhA

I actually had the privilege of meeting Mayor Koch way back in the 80's great guy he will be missed RIP.

Taken from the NY Post:

A look at some of the famous lines over the years from former New York City Mayor Ed Koch:—"How'm I doing?"

—"I'm not the type to get ulcers. I give them."

—"You punch me, I punch back. I do not believe it's good for one's self-respect to be a punching bag."

—"If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist."

—"Have you ever lived in the suburbs? It's sterile. It's nothing. It's wasting your life." On the prospect of living in Albany, during his failed 1982 race for governor.

—"Whether I am straight or gay or bisexual is nobody's business but mine."

—"If they want a parade, let them parade in front of the oil drums in Moonachie." After the New York Giants, who play in New Jersey, asked for a permit to hold a parade in the city after winning the Super Bowl in 1987.

—"I was defeated because of longevity, not because Yusuf Hawkins was murdered six weeks before the election, although that was a factor. People get tired of you. So they decided to throw me out." After losing the 1989 mayoral primary.

—"It's not soaring, beautiful, handsome, like the George Washington or the Verrazano. It's rugged, it's hard working — and that's me." On the 59th Street Bridge being renamed for him in 2011.

—"I don't want to leave Manhattan, even when I'm gone. This is my home. The thought of having to go to New Jersey was so distressing to me." After purchasing a burial plot in Manhattan's Trinity Cemetery in 2008.

—"I know that nothing happens here on this Earth that wasn't ordained by God. I know that. You know that. And therefore, while I know that it was the people who elected me, it was God who selected me."
In 1985, during an Easter Sunday worship in Harlem explaining why he thought he was selected by God to be mayor. The next day, Koch stressed that it did not necessarily mean he was endorsed by God.
"Not that I was given approval by the Deity, but I am delighted I was given the opportunity by the Deity."

RIP Ed ..

Originally Posted by Sweet N Little

Just seeing the World Trade Center behind his right hand reminds me yet again of what has been lost and causes anger.

Burn in hell, Bin Laden.

Koch is what used to be called a moderate ... a dying breed.

His answer to the war on drugs?
"Send convicted drug dealers to concentration camps in the desert.

Decaying buildings?
"Paint phony windows, complete with cheery flowerpots, on brick facades."

Overcrowded city jails?
"Stick inmates on floating prison barges."

Gawd, America would be better off with these kind of old school Democrats !