Ed Koch DEAD at 88

[newcastlefan]

Yeah, I remember that. The press went along with it too.

You know things got really bad when the liberals of this city would vote for a Republican. Before Dinkins was mayor he was Manhattan Borough President and Dinkins "forgot" to pay his income taxes for 4 years. The man had disaster written all over him and they still voted for him over Giuliani (the first time).

when Dinkins was running for office, i would literally ask people what he accomplished as Manhattan Borough Pres. and I was told that was a very racist thing to say. I think many people were just O.D.'ed on the possibility of a 4th term of Koch and stopped thinking entirely that year.

[newcastlefan]

for a fee

uh, we charge jews more for being buried in jewish cemeteries: nobody gets in for free.

[rilagent]

when Dinkins was running for office, i would literally ask people what he accomplished as Manhattan Borough Pres. and I was told that was a very racist thing to say. I think many people were just O.D.'ed on the possibility of a 4th term of Koch and stopped thinking entirely that year.

Kind of sounds like the situation floating around a certain Messiah we have in Federal Office...

...both ending in predictable disaster.

[newcastlefan]

Yeah, I remember that. The press went along with it too.

You know things got really bad when the liberals of this city would vote for a Republican. Before Dinkins was mayor he was Manhattan Borough President and Dinkins "forgot" to pay his income taxes for 4 years. The man had disaster written all over him and they still voted for him over Giuliani (the first time).

after Rudy lost to Dinkins the first time, I used to see him on the upper east side in the evenings. My friends and I would go up and say hello and chat all the time. by mid summer we were really begging him to run again, and that was before we started drinking for the night.

[newcastlefan]

Kind of sounds like the situation floating around a certain Messiah we have in Federal Office...

...both ending in predictable disaster.

yeah. that's been my fear when he first ran for office. i told people i'm just afraid we elected pres dinkins

[rilagent]

yeah. that's been my fear when he first ran for office. i told people i'm just afraid we elected pres dinkins

I said the exact same thing. President Dinkins. The Uninformed Voter held sway.

[kicksave7]

Koch's priorities were not crime control. the city was facing bankruptcy. Koch had to keep the city working without funding, which he did. when Ed came into office the city was really days away from failure and the feds had basically said "fuck you, NYC". the civil services, sanitation, police, fire, mass transit workers all were striking or threatening to strike for more money. the social services recipients were seeing their benefits cut out which is why Koch's record with the city minorities is not so great: how do you buddy up to service recipients and tell them their benefits are gone because the city is going bankrupt? even though it rationally made sense, they couldn't hear it then. Koch had to make tough calls to save the city, and he pulled it off.

Your history is absolutely correct...I lived in NYC from 1973-1980 and remember the mess Koch had to deal with. Let alone stuff like the Son of Sam killings and corruption in the police department, etc... He had chutzpah and a toughness that was needed at that time. He did a lot to improve health services in New York and worked to make them more responsive and instituted outreach programs to people in the city who couldn't afford health insurance or doctor visits. He had some duds though too...I remember when he went to China and came back and spent $$$ on bike lanes in the city just like the ones Beijing...turned out nobody, or very few people, used them so it was wasted spending. RIP Mayor Koch.

[newcastlefan]

Your history is absolutely correct...I lived in NYC from 1973-1980 and remember the mess Koch had to deal with. Let alone stuff like the Son of Sam killings and corruption in the police department, etc... He had chutzpah and a toughness that was needed at that time. He did a lot to improve health services in New York and worked to make them more responsive and instituted outreach programs to people in the city who couldn't afford health insurance or doctor visits. He had some duds though too...I remember when he went to China and came back and spent $$$ on bike lanes in the city just like the ones Beijing...turned out nobody, or very few people, used them so it was wasted spending. RIP Mayor Koch.

bike lanes are always going to be questionable here: bloomie put them in now, and people do use them but they have not reduced bike related fatalities like his traffic bitch claims. the riders think they are immune to accidents now and regularly run the traffic lights. the city buses grind their bikes into dust.

i think he ran out of things to improve during his 3rd term and was looking for things he could make a difference in, so he made a lot of mistakes, but he really loved the city so i could never fault him. real ny'ers do what they think is right even though they expect it won't be popular, and koch was definitely a real ny'er. you just have to respect him for that.

[rilagent]

bike lanes are always going to be questionable here: bloomie put them in now, and people do use them but they have not reduced bike related fatalities like his traffic bitch claims. the riders think they are immune to accidents now and regularly run the traffic lights. the city buses grind their bikes into dust.

i think he ran out of things to improve during his 3rd term and was looking for things he could make a difference in, so he made a lot of mistakes, but he really loved the city so i could never fault him. real ny'ers do what they think is right even though they expect it won't be popular, and koch was definitely a real ny'er. you just have to respect him for that.

Amen to that, Brother. I'm proud to say, despite his failings, I voted for the man every chance I got.

[kicksave7]

Amen to that, Brother. I'm proud to say, despite his failings, I voted for the man every chance I got.

Ditto.

[Rocinante]

Dinkins was such a bad mayor that he was called a "washroom attendant" by Bob Grant. He would stand around and do nothing while the city burned.

[Rupert Pupkin]

when Dinkins was running for office, i would literally ask people what he accomplished as Manhattan Borough Pres. and I was told that was a very racist thing to say. I think many people were just O.D.'ed on the possibility of a 4th term of Koch and stopped thinking entirely that year.

Howard goofed on Mayor Dinkins on the Channel 9 show with the Mayor's sweating and mopping the brow

Dinkins starts at 12:30

[Thedomina]

He was an iconic figure but a real person -- someone who spoke with conviction and integrity. I will miss him.

This

[Nemo]

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.1252984

Koch said he always held a grudge against Mario and Andrew Cuomo for 1977 campaign signs that branded him as being gay


During a nasty 1977 Democratic mayoral primary campaign between Koch and Mario Cuomo, political signs appeared in Queens that read: “Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo.”

Following Koch’s death in Manhattan early Friday, the New York Times released a 2007 interview during which Koch said he never truly forgave Cuomo, or his son Andrew, now New York’s governor, for the dirty political trick............................................. ..

[potroast]

The monument is real.

On my tombstone, which awaits me at the Trinity Church nondenominational cemetery at 155th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, I had inscribed the last words of Daniel Pearl — uttered at his publicly viewed murder — which were, “My father is Jewish. My mother is Jewish. I am Jewish.” I believe those words should be part of the annual services on the Jewish High Holiday of Yom Kippur, and should be repeated by the congregants.

[shitba]

He's survived by his brother Beercan Koch

[Spazzmatazz]

Why couldn't it have been Bloomberg instead?

[Bye You!]

The monument is real.

AHA! i thought it was the downtown Trinity Church. thanks. he sure thought of everything. his own headstone, smart man.

[Morrisb]

For the 99% of people who aren't in NY, he's the goofy judge from People's Court.