Former New York Mayor Ed Koch Dead at 88

Image from source, Chicago Tribune

The name Ed Koch brings up a bit of mixed emotions for me. I was a child of the 70s and 80s, a time when Koch became something of a national celebrity. He hosted (and was often lampooned on) Saturday Night Live, and was known as "America's Mayor" (before the odious Rudy Giuliani held that title). He helped turn around New York, pulling its reputation out of the gutter, and making it a desirable place to go again. But he had his flaws, from seemingly ignoring the AIDS crisis when it was at its most devastating, to making abrasive and combative political comments about people in his own party. And then, there is the matter of his sexual orientation, which he was inartfully coy about. But there's no doubting that Koch made his mark in both the political sphere, and in pop culture. RIP.

[Excerpt]

New York's "mayor for life," former Mayor Ed Koch dies at 88

Former Mayor Edward Koch, who presided over New York City during the turbulent late 1970s and '80s and came to personify the city with his wry and outspoken style, died on Friday at the age of 88, his spokesman said. . .

Read more at: Chicago Tribune

And I can't think about Koch without thinking also of this clip, the Oscar-winning Sundae in New York: