How Did Ed Koch Do?

Keeping in the electoral mood, Gothamist wants to point out the Museum of the City of New York's exhibit on former Mayor Ed Koch, who is the first mayor we remember (sorry, Abe Beame). The exhibit is called "New York Comes Back: The Mayoralty of Edward I. Koch," which coincides with the book with the same name by Daily News writer Michael Goodwin, and it promises to reveal "the accomplishments and the controversies of the Koch era, shedding new light on one of the great comebacks in urban history." Expect a lot of photographs from his term, 1978-1989. When we looked up Koch's bio on the city website, there's this quote from his inauguration:

These have been hard times. We have been drawn across the knife-edge of poverty. We have been shaken by troubles that would have destroyed any other city. But we are not any other city. We are the city of New York and New York in adversity towers above any other city in the world.

While Koch has endorsed Mayor Bloomberg in Mayor Bling's reelection campaign, Gothamist wonders if that's because one of the exhibit's sponsors is...Bloomberg.

How do you think Koch did? Ed Koch also reviewed movies on the city website up until last summer. We miss them, because they were slightly insane and very insightful (on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: "I may be the only critic who didn’t give this film a glowing review. I found it boring, and I believe that children between the ages of five and eight will find it too scary and those between eight and twelve will at times find it incomprehensible and dull. I - now between 80 and 120 - didn’t always comprehend what was happening.").

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By Jen Chung in Arts and Events, News on November 8, 2005 3:39 PM

Comments [rss]

Jen

Back in the early 90s, I think Howard Stern and Koch were on Hollywood Squares and Stern made a remark that pretty much said Koch was gay.

Chris

Nope, Vin, he never has come out.

Toby

Ed Koch is the first mayor I remember, and I also remember the city being a festering dung heap until Rudy kicked some ass.

jizzbomb

I remember having to dodge eggs, getting beat up, and hiding from rapist during The Koch years. Oh yeah good times. WORST MAYOR EVER besides Dinkins

Mike B.

Koch also endorsed Pataki and Bush for re-election.

Running his own city into the ground wasn't good enough for him, I guess.

The People's Court was the pinnacle of his career.

Rocknrope

Koch ate at my parent's chinese restaurant. That was good enough for me.

Vin

Isn't he out of the closet?

Max

Back when he was campagning, my Mom offered up her baby (my bro) for a kiss. My brother punched him.

Alex Dorph

Sounds very interesting, I was just a kid during that time but in a way that period is a bigger deal to me emotionally. Would be nice to look back, maybe with something closer to a new perspective

mikey

Koch continues to write terribly...interesting reviews weekly in The Villager. They all seem to share the ability to bore him.

http://thevillager.com/villager_130/kochonfilm.html

on Oliver Twist:

"it is not worth wasting your time on seeing this film, which, I believe, will bore children as well as adults."

on Loggerheads:

"I would describe it as “pretty,” in reference to the North Carolina scenery, and also “pretty boring” in terms of overall satisfaction. What might have been heralded as a sleeper film instead may put you to sleep."