“I don’t want to leave Manhattan, even when I’m gone,” he said at the time. “This is my home. The thought of having to go to New Jersey was so distressing to me.” ~~ Ed Koch, (December 12, 1924 – February 1, 2013) American lawyer, politician, political commentator, movie critic and reality television arbitrator. Served United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977; three terms as mayor of New York City, quoted in 2008 describing his decision to purchase plot at Trinity Church in NYC.
Hundreds gathered at the Temple Emanu-El on the Upper East side to honor and bid farewell to former New York City Mayor Ed Koch.
Among the many family and friends speaking were his nephews, President Bill Clinton and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The funeral will be followed by a procession to the Trinity Church cemetery in Washington Heights.
At the request of Koch, three flags will display to honor our greatest mayor, the American, the Israeli and the flag of the City of New York.
A hymn-like, slower version of “New York, New York” music ended the ceremony, and the NYPD helicopters will fly over the synagogue.
Koch's tombstone will read "My father's Jewish, my mother's Jewish, I am Jewish," taken from American journalist Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped and killed in Mumbai, India by Al Qaeda on February 1, 2002. Pearl at the time was South Asia Bureau Chief for The Wall Street Journal. Koch passed on Pearl's 11th anniversary.
Additional information:
Bill Clinton to speak at Ed Koch’s funeral in New York City, FoxNews http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/03/bill-clinton-to-speak-at-ed-koch-funeral-in-new-york-city/
Live Coverage, Ed Koch Funeral, Daily News http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2013/02/live-coverage-ed-koch-funeral
Ed Koch Photo Gallery, CBS NYC http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2013/02/live-coverage-ed-koch-funeral
Comments