Michael Goodwin
Ed Koch was one of New York’s three great mayors in the 20th century, joining LaGuardia and Giuliani in that hallowed circle. Each faced different problems with unique style, but all turned the city away from disaster and toward prosperity.
That Koch departs in an election year, accompanied by an outpouring of praise and gratitude, is his final gift to the city he loved. The current crop of candidates for City Hall now has before them clear lessons on how he achieved greatness. If Gotham is lucky, one of them will also rise to the occasion.
In Koch’s case, the key was courage. The courage to confront the big problems, even when it meant breaking with some longtime supporters.
NY Post: Vic DeLucia
A liberal congressman from the East Side, Koch first tried for City Hall in 1973, quitting after seven weeks when he couldn’t raise money or support. He told a reporter, “That’s the last mayoral race I’m ever going to make.”
But as red ink swamped the city, Koch realized that Mayor Abe Beame wasn’t up to the task. Koch would run again in 1977.
This time, he didn’t dance around the edges, vowing to confront “the threat of bankruptcy, the loss of more and more jobs and the steadily increasing crime rates.” He called Beame, a fellow Democrat, “incompetent” and said Abe “couldn’t run a candy store.”
Koch’s team, led by the brilliant David Garth, was smart enough to let Koch be Koch — up to a point.
TV ads, some showcasing his puckish humor, were crafted to identify his name with a fresh approach.
All that is pretty standard, but the key was Koch’s willingness to buck party orthodoxy. Among outer-borough voters, especially those dismissed as “white ethnics,” most Dems were seen as too liberal and too Manhattan.
Koch was fierce in his determination to overcome that image with populist, common-sense ideas. He knew that success was possible only if his policies matched the problems and the mood of voters.
His election was just the start of his challenge — now he had to actually do something. His stroke of brilliance was to introduce a new word to New Yorkers: No.
No, no, no — we’re not going to spend money we don’t have. No, we’re not going to let the unions bring us to our knees.
No, it’s not OK to litter and loot and commit crimes and have prostitutes take over Times Square.
Koch became Dr. No with a shtick that was brash and infectious. He made it cool to say no.
Most important, he meant it and soon everybody knew he meant it. Those who tested his seriousness did so only once.
Koch did not pretend to be an expert on municipal bonds, housing or anything else. Instead, he was the leader of a team and, once a solution was settled on, used the bully pulpit, the camera and the megaphone to make it happen. He was relentless.
How Ed fixed New York
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How Ed fixed New York
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How Ed fixed New York
