Monday, February 04, 2013 :::
Today is the funeral of Ed Koch, mayor of New York City from 1977 to 1989. So, as an exercise, call to your mind an image of
- New York City in 1977
- New York City in 1989.
Yeah.
Even aside from taking a city from de facto receivership and anarchy* to fiscal solvency and ... well, something close enough to civilization for the nineties to bridge much of the remaining gap, he was personable and avuncular in the best sense of a New York kind of way, and was a cheerleader, bringing optimism to a city that sometimes needed it and presenting a positive face to the city to outsiders. Certainly within the city, just about everyone is sad to see him go.
* Under his mayorship, they city recovered from the worst ever case of bronchitis, which, from etymology, I understand to be inflamation of the Bronx. His Jewish mother must have been very proud.
::: posted by dWj at 12:29 PM
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