The major media post-death coverage of the life and times of former Mayor Ed Koch has been very disturbing. For anyone who lived through the 12 years of his administration, it seems as if the establishment media and its powerful political allies have a case of collective amnesia. It’s as if they wanted us to forget the disastrous policies and practices of the Koch administration and their negative impact on Black and Latino communities.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg described him as the mayor who best represented the spirit of New York. He is described by the Post “as a straight shooter” and the best of New York. Some, including Rep. Carolyn Maloney, would have us name a subway stop after Koch. Even David Dinkins, a man Koch had publicly ridiculed, had praise for Koch.
I know that it is tradition not to say anything bad about the recently dead, but we cannot allow the city’s history to be hijacked and distorted. Koch reigned over one of the most corrupt administrations in the history of New York City. In their book “City for Sale,” deceased journalist Jack Newfield and Wayne Barrett detailed the steps Koch went to gain power with patronage clubhouse operators and party bosses in the 1977 runoff against Mario Cuomo. These men gained more and more power under Koch, eventually placing their bid riggers and contract fixers on the city payroll.
The Village Voice was the vanguard in revealing this corruption, as was Jimmy Breslin, the writer for the New York Daily News. The Amsterdam News, under Wilbert Tatum and John Davis, also played a role. Later, Bronx Democratic Leader Stanley Friedman and Brooklyn Democratic boss Meade Esposito were convicted. Queens Borough President and Queens Democratic Leader Donald Manes committed suicide before formal conviction. Three city commissioners picked by Esposito would later be convicted, as would Geoffrey Lindenauer, a deputy city commissioner.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were stolen from the city coffers. For some unknown reason, all this history was excluded in the post-Koch news reporting. Koch was responsible for closing numerous hospitals in poor communities. Among them were Gouverneur, Sydenham, Morrisania, Fordham and Prospect. I was one of the lawyers who argued the Sydenham Hospital case before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals with Beth Lief of the NAACP. I was also involved with the coalitions trying to keep open Gouverneur, Morissania and Metropolitan hospitals. Let’s not forget Victor Botnick, appointed by Koch to head the Health and Hospital Corporation, who had to resign in disgrace. Botnick was also rumored to be romantically involved with Koch.
Koch often scapegoated Blacks and Latinos while instituting policies that were clearly against the poor. The whole list of power brokers were draining the coffers of the city dry while hospitals, day care centers and libraries were closed. During his administration, there were numerous unjustified police shootings, including that of Eleanor Bumpers. Koch always sided with the police. His support of Rudolph Giuliani over David Dinkins spoke for itself.
Jack Newfield, my friend and former editor of the Village Voice, must be turning over in his grave hearing all of this false praise for Koch. I could see Jack writing, “A train station in Manhattan for Koch. Well, what about one in Brooklyn for Esposito, one in the Bronx for Stanley Friedman and one in the Queens for Manes?”
Ed Koch was a power-hungry, attention-seeking narcissistic political leader who made numerous deals “with the devil” to maintain his political position. No, Daily News, he was no role model for us, and please leave the 77th Street station on the 6 line as is.