NY saviour Koch dies aged 88

Published on 02/02/2013 02:31

Former New York mayor Ed Koch, the combative politician who rescued the city from near-financial ruin during three City Hall terms, has died aged 88.

Mr Koch, who died yesterday of congestive heart failure, won a reputation with his feisty style and his trademark question: “How’m I doing?” During his years as mayor, from 1978-89, his tight fiscal policies pulled the city out of severe difficulties. But homelessness and racial tensions soared and critics charged that City Hall’s responses were ineffective.

However, the Queensboro Bridge, connecting Manhattan to Queens, was renamed in his honour in 2011.