Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch has passed today at the age of 88. He succumbed to congenital heart failure earlier this morning at New York-Presbyterian hospital after repeated hospitalizations in prior months.
Known for his brash personality, Edward Irving Koch served as Mayor of New York City for three terms, spanning 1978 to 1989. He was born in the Bronx on Dec, 12 1924 to Polish immigrants, Yetta (née Silpe) and Louis Koch. Koch earned a law degree from NYU and later went on to enter politics in the 1950s, winning a seat on the city council. His political career took him to Washington where, for four terms, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
During his time as Mayor, Koch was able to bring the city back from the brink of financial ruin. He had many victories over the course of three terms, but there were also times of increased racial tensions, corruption amongst his political allies, and a growing Aids/HIV epidemic.
Following his mayoral years, Koch became both a political commentator as well as a partner at New York law firm Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn, and Berman. He authored and co-authored books, reviewed movies and restaurants, starred in various movies and TV shows, and became an adjunct professor at NYU.
Koch was a man who was full of life to the very end and his influence will continue to live on. His funeral will be on Monday at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan. He will later be laid to rest in the plot he purchased back in 2008 at Manhattan's Trinity Cemetery.
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