Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
from 1969 to 1977 and was
mayor of New York City
The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...
from 1978 to 1989.
Koch was a lifelong
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
who described himself as a "liberal with sanity". The author of an ambitious public housing renewal program in his later years as mayor, he began by cutting spending and taxes and cutting 7,000 employees from the city payroll. As a congressman and after his terms as the third
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
Abraham Beame
Abraham David Beame (March 20, 1906February 10, 2001) was the 104th mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As mayor, he presided over the city during its fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, when the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy.
...
), Koch was a fervent supporter of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. He crossed party lines to endorse
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
for mayor of New York City in 1993, Al D'Amato for Senate in 1998,
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
for mayor of New York City in 2001, and
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
for president in 2004.
A popular figure, Koch rode the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
and stood at street corners greeting passersby with the slogan "How'm I doin'?" He was a lifelong bachelor, had no children and did not
come out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
as gay during his lifetime. A 2022 ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' article posthumously identified him as gay.
Koch was first elected mayor of New York City in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
, and he won reelection in
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
with 75% of the vote. He was the first New York City mayor to win endorsement on both the Democratic and Republican party tickets. In
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, Koch was elected to a third term with 78% of the vote. His third term was fraught with scandal regarding political associates (although the scandal never touched him personally) and with racial tensions, including the killings of Michael Griffith and
Yusuf Hawkins
Yusef Kirriem Hawkins (also spelled as Yusuf Hawkins, March 19, 1973 – August 23, 1989) was a 16-year-old black teenager from the neighborhood of East New York, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, who was shot to death on August 23, ...
. In a close race, Koch lost the
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
Crotona Park East
Crotona Park East, also known as Crotona or East Morrisania, is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the southwest Bronx in New York City. Crotona Park East is considered part of the South Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the n ...
section of
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
borough of New York City, the son of Yetta (or Joyce, née Silpe) and Louis (Leib) Koch,
Polish-Jewish
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...
immigrants from
Kozliv
Kozliv ( uk, Козлів; pl, Kozłów; yi, קאָזלעוו, Kozlev) is an urban-type settlement in the Ternopil Raion (district) of Ternopil Oblast (province) in western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Kozliv settlement hromada, one ...
and Uścieczko in
Eastern Galicia
Eastern Galicia ( uk, Східна Галичина, Skhidna Galychyna, pl, Galicja Wschodnia, german: Ostgalizien) is a geographical region in Western Ukraine (present day oblasts of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil), having also essential h ...
. He came from a family of
Conservative Jews
Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and com ...
who resided in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.hatcheck boy in a Newark dance hall. He graduated from
South Side High School Southside High School or South Side High School may refer to:
*Southside High School (Gadsden, Alabama)
*Southside High School (Dallas County, Alabama), a school in the Dallas County Schools system
* Southside High School (Batesville, Arkansas)
* ...
in Newark in 1941.
In 1943 he was drafted into the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
Cherbourg
Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...
campaign stars
A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...
Combat Infantryman Badge
The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...
for service in the
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...
. After V-E Day, because he could speak German, Koch was sent to
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
to help remove Nazi public officials from their jobs and find non-Nazis to take their place. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant in 1946.
Koch returned to New York City to attend
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
, graduating in 1945, and
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...
, receiving his law degree in 1948. Koch was a
sole practitioner
A sole practitioner or solo practitioner is a professional, such as a lawyer or an architect, who practices independently. For instance a sole practitioner's law firm may include non-lawyer support personnel but does not include any other lawyers.
...
from 1949 to 1964, and a partner with Koch, Lankenau, Schwartz & Kovner from 1965 to 1968. A
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, he became active in New York City politics as a reformer and opponent of Carmine DeSapio and
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...
. In 1962 Koch ran for office for the first time, unsuccessfully opposing incumbent William Passannante, a DeSapio ally, for the Democratic nomination for the
State Assembly
State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government.
Channel Islands
States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...
.
In 1963, Koch defeated DeSapio for the position of Democratic Party leader for the district which included
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
, and Koch won again in a 1965 rematch. Koch served on the
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...
from 1967 to 1969.
Career
Elections
1968
Koch ran for Congress in
New York's 17th congressional district
New York's 17th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in Southern New York. It includes all of Rockland County and portions of central and northwestern Westchester County, incl ...
after Republican Theodore Roosevelt Kupferman retired. He defeated Republican Whitney Seymour Jr. and Conservative Richard J. Callahan, who partly split the conservative vote. He won 48.5% of the vote to Seymour's 45.6% and Callahan's 5.9%.
1970
Koch was reelected with 62% of the vote, defeating Republican Peter J. Sprague and Conservative Callahan who finished with 32% and 6%, respectively.
1972
In advance of the 1972 elections, Koch's district was redistricted into the 18th district. He defeated Republican Jane Pickens Langley and Socialist Workers nominee Rebecca Finch, 70%-29%-1%.
1973
Koch briefly ran for mayor in 1973, but garnered little support and dropped out before the Democratic primary. He threw his support to State Assemblyman
Albert H. Blumenthal
Albert Howard Blumenthal (October 13, 1928 – July 8, 1984) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
Life
Blumenthal was born on October 13, 1928, in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Bennet M. Blumenthal (1888–1980) an ...
, but Blumenthal's bid was derailed by a scandal and he came in third. Comptroller
Abraham Beame
Abraham David Beame (March 20, 1906February 10, 2001) was the 104th mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As mayor, he presided over the city during its fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, when the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy.
...
won the election.
1974
Koch won reelection (with career-best 76.7% of the vote) to the 18th district against John Boogaerts Jr. (Republican, 18.8%), Gilliam M. Drummond (Conservative, 3.7%), and Katherine Sojourner ( Socialist Workers, 0.8%).
1976
Koch was again reelected, this time with 75.7% of the vote, defeating Sonia Landau (Republican, 20.1%), and James W. McConnell (Conservative, 4.3%).
1977
Koch announced his campaign for mayor of New York City against incumbent Beame. Koch and future governor Mario Cuomo finished first (19.8%) and second (18.7%) in the Democratic primary, eliminating Beame (18%). In the runoff, Koch defeated Cuomo, 55%-45%.
Koch ran to the right of the other candidates on a " law and order" platform. According to historian Jonathan Mahler, the New York City blackout of July 1977 and the subsequent rioting helped catapult Koch and his message of restoring public safety to front-runner status.
1981
Koch won both the Democratic and Republican nominations and appeared on the ballot with both of their lines. He faced opposition only from third parties. He won 74.6% of the vote, with Unity candidate Frank Barbaro netting next-best 13.3%. John A. Esposito (Conservative) and Mary T. Codd (Liberal) also ran. Koch swept all five boroughs by landslide margins, breaking 60% of the vote in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and 70% in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
,
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
and
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
.
1982
After incumbent
Hugh Carey
Hugh Leo Carey (April 11, 1919 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He was a seven-term U.S. representative from 1961 to 1974 and the 51st governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. He was a member of the Democratic Party. ...
announced he would not run for reelection, Koch announced his candidacy for governor of New York. Cuomo, who had been elected lieutenant governor, also ran. Koch received the party's endorsement with 61% of the convention vote, but Cuomo won the Democratic primary. ''The New York Times'' called Cuomo's victory a "stunning upset" that relied on "an unusual coalition of liberal Democrats, labor, minorities and upstaters". Koch ran strongly in Jewish communities, while Cuomo won black, liberal, and Italian communities by a similar margin. A key to Cuomo's victory was his strong showing in New York City itself; though Koch won the city and its four suburban counties (Rockland, Westchester, Suffolk, and Nassau) as expected, Cuomo kept the margin close and won half of the city's Assembly districts. That, combined with large victories in nearly every upstate county, allowed Cuomo to win. Koch endorsed Cuomo immediately, declaring "what's important to all of us is that we keep a Democrat in Albany." Many say the deciding factor in Koch's loss was an interview with ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' magazine in which he called the lifestyle of suburbia and
upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
"sterile" and lamented the thought of having to live in "the small town" of Albany as governor. Koch's remarks are thought to have alienated many voters from outside New York City. Cuomo was elected governor over Republican
Lewis Lehrman
Lewis E. "Lew" Lehrman (born August 15, 1938, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is an American investment banker, businessman, Republican Party (United States), Republican politician, economist, and historian who supports the ongoing study of America ...
, and served three terms.
1985
Koch was reelected to a third term in a landslide. He defeated Carol Bellamy (Liberal) and Dian McGrath (Republican/Conservative), 78%-10%-9%, respectively, and was sworn into his third and final term in January 1986. As of 2021, this is the most recent mayoral election in which a Democrat carried Staten Island. During the campaign, Koch visited the Lubavitcher Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...
, seeking his blessing and endorsement.
1989
Koch ran for an unprecedented fourth term in 1989. No mayor had ever won a fourth term, though
Fiorello La Guardia
Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...
and Robert Wagner also served three terms, and Wagner attempted to run for a fourth in
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
. Koch lost the Democratic primary to Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins, who finished with 547,901 votes to Koch's 456,313. Dinkins was helped in part by large margins in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, while Koch carried Staten Island and Queens. Dinkins defeated
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
in the general election by a narrow margin, with Giuliani carrying both counties Koch won in the primary. Giuliani won a rematch against Dinkins in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
.
U.S. Congressional tenure
Koch was the Democratic U.S. Representative from
New York's 17th congressional district
New York's 17th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in Southern New York. It includes all of Rockland County and portions of central and northwestern Westchester County, incl ...
from January 3, 1969, until January 3, 1973, when, after a redistricting, he represented
New York's 18th congressional district
The 18th congressional district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives that contains the northern suburbs and exurbs of New York City. It is currently represented by Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney. ...
until December 31, 1977, when he resigned to become Mayor of New York City.
Koch said he began his political career as "just a plain liberal", with positions including opposing the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and marching in the South for civil rights. In April 1973, Koch coined the term "
Watergate Seven
The Watergate Seven has come to refer to two different groups of people, both of them in the context of the Watergate scandal. Firstly, it can refer to the five men caught on June 17, 1972, burglarizing the Democratic National Committee's headqu ...
" when, in response to U.S. Senator
Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.
Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. (; born May 16, 1931) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the 85th Governor of Connecticut. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in 1980. He was ...
's indicating that one of the men in
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
had been ordered in the spring of 1972 to keep certain senators and representatives under surveillance, he posted a sign on his office door reading, "These premises were surveilled by the Watergate Seven. Watch yourself". At about the same time, Koch began his rightward shift toward being a "liberal with sanity" after reviewing the 1973 controversy around then-New York City Mayor John Lindsay's attempt to place a 3,000-person
housing project
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authorities, government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the d ...
in a middle-class community in
Forest Hills, Queens
Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast, ...
. Koch met with residents of the community, most of whom were against the proposal. He was convinced by their arguments, and spoke out against the plan, shocking some of his liberal allies.
Koch was active in advocating for a greater U.S. role in advancing human rights within the context of fighting Communism. He had particular influence in the foreign aid budget, as he sat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations. In 1976, Koch proposed that the U.S. cut off military aid and supplies to the
military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer.
The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...
of Uruguay. In mid-July 1976, the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
learned that two high-level Uruguayan intelligence officers had discussed a possible assassination attempt on Koch by
Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional
The Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional ( en, National Intelligence Directorate) or DINA was the secret police of Chile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The DINA has been referred to as "Pinochet's Gestapo". Established in November ...
(DINA), the Chilean
secret police
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...
under dictator Augusto Pinochet. The CIA did not regard these threats as credible until after the September 1976
assassination of Orlando Letelier
On 21 September 1976, Orlando Letelier, a leading opponent of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, was assassinated by car bombing, in Washington, D.C. Letelier, who was living in exile in the United States, was killed along with his work colleagu ...
in Washington, D.C., by DINA agents coordinated by Operation Condor. After that,
Director of Central Intelligence
The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security C ...
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
informed Koch of the threat. Koch subsequently asked both the CIA and the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
for protection, but none was extended.
Tenure as mayor of New York City
First term
When Koch took office, the city was reeling from high crime, a devastating blackout, and a fiscal crisis. During his first term, which many considered his best, he instituted austerity measures and moderated the municipal unions, measures that helped bolster the city’s finances during his second term. During his first term, a number of major events occurred in New York City.
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
's abrupt assassination sent shock waves around the world. Grief-stricken New Yorkers walked the streets openly crying for days after the shooting, which took place in front of
The Dakota
The Dakota, also known as the Dakota Apartments, is a Housing cooperative, cooperative apartment building at 1 West 72nd Street (Manhattan), 72nd Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The Dakota was construc ...
, Lennon's place of residence on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Koch also dealt with the second transit strike, and pushed for the 1980 Democratic National Convention to be in NYC. His first term also saw a sister city relationship begin with Beijing.
Second term
Among the events of Koch's second term as mayor were the
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...
's 100th anniversary, the appointing of Benjamin Ward as the city's first ever African American police commissioner in 1983, the emergence of AIDS as a public health crisis, extensive media coverage of
Bernhard Goetz
On December 22, 1984, Bernhard Goetz () shot four young men on a New York City Subway train in Manhattan after they allegedly tried to rob him.
Goetz surrendered to police nine days later and was charged with attempted murder, assault, reckles ...
's shooting of four African American teenagers in the subway in 1984, and the United Nations' 40th anniversary.
Koch often deviated from the conventional liberal line, strongly supporting the death penalty, adding 3,500 officers to the NYPD in the 1980s, and taking a hard line on "
quality of life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
" issues, such as giving police broader powers in dealing with the homeless and signing legislation banning the playing of radios on subways and buses. These positions prompted harsh criticism from the local chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
and many African-American leaders, particularly Reverend Al Sharpton.
In 1984, Koch published his first memoir, ''Mayor'', which became a best-seller and was adapted into an
off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
''.
Third term
In 1986, Koch signed a lesbian and gay rights ordinance for the city after the City Council passed the measure (on March 20), after 15 years of failed attempts by that body to approve such legislation. Despite his overall pro-lesbian and pro-gay-rights stance, he nonetheless backed up the
New York City Health Department
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is the department of the government of New York City responsible for public health along with issuing birth certificates, dog licenses, and conducting restaurant inspection and enforcem ...
's decision to shut down the city's gay bathhouses in 1985 in response to concerns over the spread of AIDS. The enactment of the measure the next year placed the city in a dilemma, as it apparently meant that the bathhouses would have to be reopened because many heterosexual "sex clubs"such as
Plato's Retreat
Plato's Retreat was a swingers' club catering to heterosexual couples and bisexual women. From 1977 until 1985 it operated in two locations in Manhattan, New York City, United States. The first was the former location of the Continental Baths, ...
were in operation in the city at the time, and allowing them to remain open while keeping the bathhouses shuttered would have been a violation of the newly adopted anti-discrimination law. The Health Department, with Koch's approval, reacted by ordering the heterosexual clubs, including Plato's Retreat, to close as well. Also in 1986, Koch participated in
Hands Across America
Hands Across America was a public fundraising event on Sunday, May 25, 1986, when 5 to 6.5 million people held hands for 15 minutes in an attempt to form a continuous human chain across the contiguous United States. The attempt to have a co ...
and in the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
's 100th anniversary celebration. The career-ending face-slashing of model
Marla Hanson
Marla Hanson (born June 18, 1961) is an American screenwriter and ex-model who was the victim of a slashing attack instigated by her landlord in 1986.
Early life
Born in Independence, Missouri, Hanson graduated from Odessa High School in Odessa, ...
, the paralyzing shooting of NYCPD detective
Steven McDonald
Steven D. McDonald (March 1, 1957 January 10, 2017) was a New York City Police Department patrolman who was shot and paralyzed on July 12, 1986. The shooting left him quadriplegic.
Shooting
A former U.S. Navy hospital corpsman and third gene ...
,
crack cocaine
Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...
Howard Beach incident
Michael Griffith (March 2, 1963 – December 20, 1986) was a 23-year-old black man who was killed on December 20, 1986, in Howard Beach, in Queens, New York City, in a racially motivated attack. Griffith and two other black men were set upon by a ...
, and the racially motivated
murder of Yusef Hawkins
Yusef Kirriem Hawkins (also spelled as Yusuf Hawkins, March 19, 1973 – August 23, 1989) was a 16-year-old black teenager from the neighborhood of East New York, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, who was shot to death on August 23, ...
also happened during Koch's third term.
Koch consistently demonstrated a fierce love for New York City, which some observers felt he carried to extremes on occasion: in 1984 he went on record as opposing the creation of a second telephone
area code
A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...
for the city, claiming that this would divide the city's population; and when the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
's
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
won
Super Bowl XXI
Super Bowl XXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
in January 1987, he refused to grant a permit for the team to hold their traditional victory parade in the city, quipping famously, "If they want a parade, let them parade in front of the oil drums in Moonachie" (a town in New Jersey adjacent to the East Rutherford site of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, where the Giants play their home games).
In his third term, Koch's popularity was shaken after a series of corruption scandals, touched off by
Donald Manes
Donald R. Manes (, ; January 18, 1934 – March 13, 1986) was a Democratic Party politician from New York City. He served as borough president of the New York City borough of Queens from 1971 until just before his suicide while under suspicion ...
's suicide and the PVB scandal, which revealed that he had acceded to the requests of political allies (most notably Queens Borough President Manes, Bronx Democratic Party official
Stanley M. Friedman
Stanley Melvin Friedman (born March 18, 1936) is a former head of the Bronx County Democratic Committee (better known as the Bronx Democratic party), a former Deputy Mayor of New York City, and later hotelier.
Early life
Friedman was born in th ...
and Brooklyn Democratic Party chairman
Meade Esposito
Amadeo Henry "Meade" Esposito (1907 – September 3, 1993) was an American politician who was a Brooklyn Democratic leader and political boss. Esposito served as chairman of the Kings County Democratic Committee from 1969 to 1984. As a leader, h ...
, an
American Mafia
The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its membe ...
associate long perceived as New York City's preeminent political leader) to stack city agencies with patronage appointments. There were no allegations that Koch obtained any financial benefit from the corruption, but the scandals undermined Koch's claims that he ran a patronage-free municipal government. Michael Tager attributes the scandals not to Koch's failures but to the steadily declining power of the Democratic machine and its bosses' desperate efforts to reverse the collapse.
In July 1987, Koch proposed banning bicycling on Fifth,
Park
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
and
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
Avenues during weekdays, but many bicyclists protested and had the ban overturned.
It has been said that race relations in Koch's last years in office were poor. He became a controversial figure in the 1988 presidential campaign with his public criticism of Democratic candidate
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...
, who surprised many political observers by winning key primaries in March and running even with the front-runner, Massachusetts Governor
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
. As the April New York primary approached, Koch reminded voters of Jackson's earlier
anti-Semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
statements, and said that Jews would be "crazy" to vote for Jackson. Koch endorsed Tennessee Senator
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
, who had run well in his native South, but hadn't won 20% in a northern state. As Koch's anti-Jackson rhetoric intensified, Gore seemed to shy away from Koch. On primary day, Gore finished a weak third place with 10% of the vote and dropped out of the race. Jackson ran ten points behind Dukakis, whose nomination became assured after his New York win.
Post-mayoral years
In the years following his mayoralty, Koch became a partner in the law firm of
Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn, and Berman
Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn, and Berman was a New York City law firm which practiced from 1950 to 2002. At its height, the firm employed 170 attorneys. In July 2002, it merged with St. Louis-based Bryan Cave LLP to become Bryan Cave Robi ...
LLP (now Bryan Cave LLP) and a commentator on politics, as well as reviewing movies and restaurants for newspapers, radio and television. He also became an adjunct professor at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
(NYU) and the judge on '' The People's Court'' for two years (1997–99) following the retirement of Judge Joseph Wapner. In 1999, he was a visiting professor at
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
. Koch regularly appeared on the lecture circuit, and had a high-rated talk show on WABC radio. He also hosted his own online movie review show, ''The Mayor at the Movies''.
A street in southern
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
was named after Koch in an August 12, 1993, ceremony attended by him alongside prominent Israeli and American dignitaries.
In 2004, together with his sister Pat (also Pauline) Koch Thaler, Koch wrote a children's book, ''Eddie, Harold's Little Brother''; it tells the story of Koch's childhood, when he tried unsuccessfully to emulate his older brother Harold's baseball talents, before realizing that he should instead focus on what he was already good at, which was telling stories and speaking in public.
The
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...
voted to rename the
Queensboro Bridge
The Queensboro Bridge, officially named the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City. Completed in 1909, it connects the neighborhood of Long Island City in the borough of Queens with the Upper East ...
the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge on March 23, 2011. Later, city councilman
Peter Vallone
Peter Fortunate Vallone Sr. (born December 13, 1934 in New York City) is an American politician.
Background
His father, Judge Charles J. Vallone (1901–1967) of the Queens County Civil Court, encouraged young Peter to broaden his horizons b ...
introduced legislation banning the naming of New York City property after people who are still alive, but the legislation failed.
Koch formed an organization called New York Uprising to push for statewide redistricting reform. In April 2011, he publicly upbraided 42 state legislators he claimed had broken their promises to support redistricting reform.
In May 2011, Koch sat for a portrait by Dmitry Borshch that has been exhibited at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...
,
Brecht Forum
The Brecht Forum was an independent Marxist educational and cultural center in Brooklyn, New York, named after German writer Bertolt Brecht. Throughout the years, the Forum offered a wide-ranging program of classes, public lectures and seminars, ...
Catalog of American Portraits
The National Portrait Gallery is a historic art museum between 7th, 9th, F, and G Streets NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Founded in 1962 and opened to the public in 1968, it is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections f ...
at the Smithsonian's
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to:
*National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra
*National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred
*National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C.
*National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...
.
"Mayor at the Movies"
Koch began appearing in weekly movie review segments for an online show, ''Mayor at the Movies'', in the summer of 2009. He was an avid moviegoer who often saw two or three movies a weekend. Although he was invited to private screenings, Koch preferred to see films with a public audience and was often approached by moviegoers who were surprised to find him there. His reviews were outspoken and wry, with his rating system consisting not of stars but of a "plus" for a good film or a "minus" for a bad one. He sought out great documentaries, and had a particular passion for anything of Jewish interest.
He had a particular passion for independent cinema and documentaries, but enjoyed dramas and action films as well. In addition to ''Mayor at the Movies'', his film reviews were regularly featured on ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' and in the New York newspaper '' The Villager''. Koch also appeared in more than 60 Hollywood films and television shows as himself, including '' Sex and the City'', '' Spin City'', and ''
Double Rush
''Double Rush'' is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from January 4 to April 12, 1995. The series stars Robert Pastorelli as the manager of a bicycle messenger service in New York City.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehens ...
'', and also hosted ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
''. A documentary about his life, '' Koch'', had its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 8, 2012, and was released theatrically on February 1, 2013 (coincidentally, the day of Koch's death).
Political endorsements
After leaving office, Koch frequently endorsed prominent Republican candidates, including
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
and
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
,
Peter T. King
Peter Thomas King (born April 5, 1944) is a former American politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented a South Shore Long Island district that in ...
for
U.S. House
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
for president. Koch also endorsed Democrats, including
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008.
Spitzer was b ...
for governor in the 2006 election. He endorsed
Bill Bradley
William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...
for president in 2000.
Koch took back his endorsement of Spitzer in the aftermath of the governor's prostitution scandal. He said, "At the time the prostitution episode emerged, I commented that nothing could explain his behavior other than the fact that he had a screw loose in his head. Probably several."
Though Koch supported Giuliani's first mayoral bid, he became opposed to him in January 1996, and began writing a series of columns in the New York '' Daily News'' criticizing Giuliani, most frequently accusing him of being authoritarian and insensitive. In 1999, the columns were compiled into the book ''Giuliani: Nasty Man''. He resumed his attacks, and had the book republished, in 2007, after Giuliani announced his candidacy for president. In May 2007, Koch called Giuliani "a control freak" and said that "he wouldn't meet with people he didn't agree with. That's pretty crazy." He also said that Giuliani "was imbued with the thought that if he was right, it was like a God-given right. That's not what we need in a president."
Koch originally endorsed
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
for president during the 2008 campaign, then endorsed Democratic nominee
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
in the general election. In his endorsement of Obama, Koch wrote that he felt that (unlike in 2004) both candidates would do their best to protect both the United States and Israel from terrorist attacks, but that he agreed with Obama's domestic policies much more and that the idea of Republican vice-presidential nominee
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...
ascending to the presidency "would scare me". In 2010, he rescinded his support for Obama, saying that Obama could very well harm American–Israeli relations.
Koch endorsed Republican Bob Turner for Congress in 2011 because he "wanted to send a message to Obama to take a stronger position in support of Israel."
In October 2012, Koch told Al Sharpton that after a conversation with Obama about his position on Israel he was satisfied, and endorsed his reelection.
Early in 2013, Koch endorsed Christine Quinn in the Democratic primary for that year's
mayoral election
Mayoral may refer to:
* Mayoral is an adjectival form of mayor
* Mayoral, a Spanish Children's Fashion Company
* Borja Mayoral (born 1997), Spanish footballer
* César Mayoral (born 1947), Argentine diplomat
* David Mayoral (born 1997), Spanish f ...
.
Other political statements
Koch often wrote in defense of Israel and against anti-Semitism. He also appeared in the documentary '' FahrenHYPE 9/11'' defending President Bush and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and blasting
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism.
Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...
. Koch was quoted in the film saying of Moore's film ''
Fahrenheit 9/11
''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed, written by, and starring filmmaker, director, political commentator and activist Michael Moore. The film takes a liberal, critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the w ...
'', "It's not a documentary, it's a lie."
Koch praised New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
, saying that he had the right approach in reducing government spending and refraining from raising taxes.
Koch was an early supporter of the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. In July 2007, Koch wrote that he was "bailing out" of his previous support for that war, due to the failure of the United States'
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
allies, and other
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
countries, to contribute to the war effort. Koch wrote, "I would support our troops remaining in Iraq if our allies were to join us. But they have made it clear they will not." He added that the U.S. must still "prepare for the battles that will take place on American soil by the Islamic forces of terror who are engaged in a war that will be waged by them against Western civilization for at least the next 30 years."
On April 8, 2010, Koch wrote a piece in ''
The Jerusalem Post
''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...
'' excoriating what he saw as increasing anti-Catholicism in the media, largely made evident by coverage of the priest sex abuse scandals. While denouncing the abuse, Koch wrote, "the procession of articles on the same events are, in my opinion, no longer intended to inform, but simply to castigate." He also wrote that he believed that many in the media, some themselves Catholic, exhibited such anti-Catholicism largely because of their opposition to the Catholic Church's teachings on such issues as abortion, homosexuality, and artificial contraception. He stated that, while he opposed the Church's teaching in all these matters, he firmly believed that the Church had the right to espouse these beliefs and to expect its members to espouse them as well, calling the Church "a force for good in the world, not evil."
Personal life
Koch was a resident of
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
for most of his adult life. At the time of his death, he lived at 2 Fifth Avenue, overlooking Washington Square Park.
Sexuality
Koch never married, and rumors about his
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
became an issue in the 1977 mayoral election with the appearance of placards and posters (disavowed by the Cuomo campaign) with the slogan "Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo." Koch denounced the attack.
In 1989, Koch was interviewed about a book he had coauthored with Cardinal John J. O'Connor. When the interviewer asked Koch to clarify his views on homosexuality relative to O'Connor, Koch responded, "I happen to believe that there's nothing wrong with homosexuality. It's whatever God made you. It happens that I'm a heterosexual." He once told ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' magazine, "Listen, there's no question that some New Yorkers think I'm gay, and voted for me nevertheless. The vast majority don't care, and others don't think I am. And I don't give a shit either way!" He was frequently accompanied at political functions by his friend Bess Myerson, who acted as a beard.
A 2022 ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' article confirmed Koch's homosexuality, based on interviews with close confidants. The ''Times'' reported that Koch disclosed his sexuality only to friends he knew were gay, and was only known to have had one long-term relationship, with health care consultant Richard W. Nathan, which Koch ended when he was elected mayor, apparently out of fear that the relationship would become public. In the 1980s, activist and writer
Larry Kramer
Laurence David Kramer (June 25, 1935May 27, 2020) was an American playwright, author, film producer, public health advocate, and gay rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to Lo ...
, who was sharply critical of Koch's handling of the
AIDS epidemic
The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...
, unsuccessfully attempted to
out
Out may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
* ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander
* ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...
him after learning of his relationship with Nathan. This reportedly influenced Koch's insistence on remaining closeted for the duration of his life, as he did not "want to give activists like Mr. Kramer the satisfaction of seeing him come out, after they had tried so hard to see him outed".
Health, death and funeral
Koch had a mild stroke in 1987, but was able to resume his duties as mayor within about a week. In 2022, his former spokesman, George Arzt, suggested that the anxiety Koch experienced amid efforts to out him during the period caused a decline in his health, which he said might have contributed to the stroke.
Koch experienced some health problems, including heart issues, after his mayoralty, and was frequently hospitalized in the final months of his life. On January 31, 2013, he was admitted to
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (NYP/CUIMC), also known as the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), is an academic medical center and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. It includes Co ...
in Manhattan due to fatigue, where he died from heart failure at 2 a.m. the next day, aged 88. His funeral took place on February 4, 2013, at Temple Emanu-El, a
Reform Jewish
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...
congregation in Manhattan. Because of Koch's fierce loyalty to Israel, the Israeli Consul-General to New York City spoke. Former president
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
also addressed the congregation, serving as President Obama's representative.
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
helicopters gave a fly-over at the service.
Koch purchased a burial plot in Trinity Church Cemetery in April 2008 so that he could be buried in Manhattan. It is the only graveyard in the borough that accepts new burials. He chose to put the last words of the late journalist Daniel Pearl on his tombstone: "My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish."
Wit
A practiced public speaker since his days stumping for Adlai Stevenson, Koch was well known for his quips and one-liners. A few include:
* (On the occasion of his primary loss to David Dinkins) "The people have spoken ... and they must be punished."
* "I'm the sort of person who will never get ulcers. Why? Because I say exactly what I think. I'm the sort of person who might give other people ulcers."
* "If you agree with me on nine out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist."
Works
* Koch, Edward I. (1980). ''The Mandate Millstone''. US Conference of Mayors. .
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
See also
*
LGBT culture in New York City
New York City is home to one of the largest LGBTQ populations in the world and the most prominent. Brian Silverman, the author of ''Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day,'' wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most power ...
*
List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
This is a list of Jewish members of the United States Congress. , there are 10 Jewish senators and 27 Jewish members of the House of Representatives serving in the United States Congress.
Senate
Elected to the Senate, but not seated
House ...
*
List of LGBT members of the United States Congress
This is a list of lesbian, gay, and bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans who have served in the United States Congress.
26 members of the LGBT community are known to have held office in the U.S. Congress. In the House, 25 LGBT people he ...
*
List of LGBT people from New York City
New York City is home to one of the largest LGBT populations in the world and the most prominent. Brian Silverman, the author of ''Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day,'' writes that the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most ...
Timeline of New York City
This article is a timeline of the history of New York City in the state of New York, US.
Prior to 1700s
* 1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first European to see New York Harbor arrives and names it Nouvelle- Angoulême.
* 1613 – Juan ...
, 1970s–1980s
References
Notes
Primary sources
* Koch, Edward, and Daniel Paisner. ''Citizen Koch: an autobiography'' (St. Martin's Press, 1992).
* Koch, Ed. ''The Koch Papers: My Fight Against Anti-Semitism'' (Macmillan, 2008).
Further reading
* Goodwin, Michael, ed. ''New York Comes Back: The Mayoralty of Edward I. Koch'', powerHouse Books, 2005. .
* Harrington, Michael. "When Ed Koch Was Still a Liberal". ''Dissent'' (1987): 595–602 online * Mollenkopf, John H. ''A Phoenix in the Ashes: The Rise and Fall of the Koch Coalition in New York City Politics''. Princeton University Press, 1994.
* Newfield, Jack and Barrett, Wayne. ''City For Sale: Ed Koch and the Betrayal of New York'', London: HarperCollins, 1989. .
* Soffer, Jonathan. ''Ed Koch and the Rebuilding of New York City'' (Columbia University Press; 2010) 494 pages.
* Thompson, J. Phillip. "David Dinkins' victory in New York City: The decline of the Democratic Party organization and the strengthening of black politics". ''PS: Political Science & Politics'' (1990) 23#2 pp. 145–148.
*
Paterson, David
David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A ...
Bloomberg.com
Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...
La Guardia and Wagner Archives
The La Guardia and Wagner Archives was established in 1982 at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York, to collect, preserve, and make available primary materials documenting the social and political history of New York Ci ...