Ed Koch 1924 - 2013

Tribute To Mayor Ed Koch

So Ed Koch is gone. The Lawyer and Politician who always strove to speak for the common man, because, stripped of his titles, he was Ed Koch, Citizen Of New York and the World. He was witty and lovable and plain spoken, never hesitating to say what was on his mind or to share what was in his extremely large heart. He love New York and all of it's multitude of characters and all of it's turmoil and troubles. As a councilman, and as Mayor, he attacked them all with a gusto, determined to make the city a better place to live, and he did! He stood with his beloved Police Department, but when the cops were wrong, he was not afraid to say so.
He stood up to gay slurs during that campaign against Mario Cuomo, when slogans started showing up which said "Vote for Cuomo, not the Homo". Ed, with out saying it, declared that a person's sexual preference was a private matter, and I always admired the fact that he felt that it didn't matter.
I will miss the reporters going to him when they need an honest, outspoken opinion about something that is shaking the town up any particular day. I will miss those 05:00 AM interviews with him at his gym. Mostly, I will miss knowing that Ed Koch is out there, voicing his opinion about something, and standing up for his people, which included every decent person out there. He was a Jew who attended mass and is buried in an Episcopal cemetery, a man of all of the people. Rest In Peace, Mr. Mayor; I will miss you. We all will miss you.

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