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QC02072013

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com FEBRUARY 7, 2013 • THE QUEENS COURIER 37 oped HALL OF SHAME Incidents of graffi ti have risen. The Courier invites you, our readers, to submit photos of vandalism — or addresses where you see graffi ti — for our “Hall of Shame.” Conversely, if a home or business has “cleaned up their act,” submit them for induction into our “Hall of Fame.” Send all high resolution JPG images (300 DPI) to editorial@ queenscourier.com with a location and a contact number. Otherwise, contact us at 38-15 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY 11361. Help us take our borough back from the vandals! street talk BY ANTHONY O’REILLY & ADJANI SHAH  What do you think Mayor Ed Koch’s legacy will be? He had warmth toward people. He had a great sense of humor and he was loved by the people. One of the greatest mayors of all time. Anne Pipolo He was honest. He said everything that had to be said and said it the way it was. He wasn’t political in that sense. Claire Pipolo I remember when he was mayor. He was a very good mayor, one of the best ones. The city was broke; I remember when he bought us out of that. Elias Hernandez He was the quintessential New Yorker; he loved being the mayor. He was direct and honest and he was one of our greatest mayors. Fred Warshaw He’s the best mayor we ever had in my time. He stood up to anybody and everybody; he’d tell you what he felt. He did what was best for New York. Richard Murphy I thought he was terrifi c; he was full of life. His enthusiasm impacted how we viewed the city. Joan Rosenberg. He seemed like a pretty good guy; he helped the city in a fi nancial crisis. Joost Burgers Bell Boulevard and 40th Avenue I loved him; he was very straightforward. Overall his legacy will go on for a while…he knew where he stood. Dennis DeBorger Koch WAS New York BY CLAIRE SHULMAN Welcome to my bridge! Welcome to my bridge! That was Ed Koch, son of Polish immigrants, who became the mayor of the world’s greatest city. That same opportunity exists today and continues to attract immigrants to our shores looking for a better life. After serving in the Council and Congress, Ed became mayor at a critical time for the city. We were virtually bankrupt and for the fi rst time people considered leaving town for a better future elsewhere. A wholesale depression settled in and the exuberance that generally described us was gone. It was 1978 and in came this whirlwind guy from Greenwich Village with his enormous energy and a strong belief in the city. He literally lifted our spirits and every day raised his arms and loudly proclaimed that New York City is alive and well. He restored glamour and industry to the city of promise. He hired the best people and set to crafting a budget that the city could afford and yet survive. His confi dence in the city caught on, and the grumbling over cuts was no longer an issue. He really understood how to make government work. He will be remembered for many things, including rehabbing vacant apartments into affordable housing in the Bronx and other parts of the city. Who can forget driving the Cross Bronx Expressway looking at fl owers painted on the windows of thousands of empty apartments? Once I took Ed to the Astoria Motion Picture Center to watch Sidney Lument direct the “WIZ.” Astoria is now of course home to Kaufman Astoria Studio, which was long ago Paramount Studios Circa1898. Ed and I stood on the darkest part of the enormous stage and watched Diana Ross dance down the yellow brick road right into Ed’s arms. You can’t imagine his excitement. This was right up his alley and of course media was part of his life. But most of all he understood the importance of bringing the motion picture and television industry back to New York City and was forever a supporter of the project. During the early 1980’s the New York City fi lm industry did almost zero in economic activity and now the latest number is $7.1 billion. What a leap forward. The scandal of former Borough President Donald R. Manes in 1986 during Ed’s watch caught him by surprise and of course he was most distressed and it took a while for him to recover, but recover he did and the old bounce returned. He always supported me during that terrible time for which I am eternally grateful. Some people think that one scandal will close his legacy but I don’t think so. His saving the city from fi nancial disaster and returning the city to its greatest will forever be his legacy and history will treat him well. For a short but important time New York City was Ed Koch and Ed Koch was New York City. Claire Shulman is former Queens Borough President.


QC02072013
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