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"RIP, Ed Koch. The unforgettable New York City mayor, who served three terms from 1977 to 1986, died on Friday (Feb. 1) at 2 a.m., his spokesman confirmed to media outlets.  Beloved for his trademark Bronx accent, in-your-face demeanor and his typical &amp;quot;How&amp;apos;m I doin?&amp;quot; greeting, Koch suffered congestive heart failure late Thursday, and passed away in intensive care at a local hospital. He was 88 years old.\r\n\r\nKoch began his career as an attorney who entered the political realm in the early 1960. He became a U.S. congressman in 1968 -- successfully running for mayor in 1977 and remaining at the helm of the Big Apple from 1978 to 1989, when David Dinkins succeeded him.\r\nSaid current mayor Michael Bloomberg in a statement: &amp;quot;In elected office and as a private citizen, he was our most tireless, fearless, and guileless civic crusader . . . We will miss him dearly, but his good works -- and his wit and wisdom -- will forever be a part of the city he loved so much.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nRemaining a nationally recognized personality following his mayoral tenure, Koch returned to practicing law but also hosted a radio show, wrote a newspaper column and made many TV cameos as himself on shows like Sex and the City, Spin City and Picket Fences. He even served as a TV judge for two years on The People&amp;apos;s Court, and, in his later years, penned movie reviews for his site mayorkoch.com.\r\n&amp;quot;I think my personality was helpful in this job. I always had a great sense of humor, though I am also pretty reserved personally,&amp;quot; he reasoned to New York magazine in 1998. &amp;quot;I mean, I don&amp;apos;t go to chichi parties; never did. I don&amp;apos;t like going to dinners other than small dinners at the homes of people. But I realized that if I was to harness the energies of the people of the city of New York and give them back their pride, I would have to become bigger than life. And I did.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nKoch also had his critics -- many of whom decried his lack of support for LGBT causes and the burgeoning AIDS crisis.  But the lifelong, never-married bachelor never publicly discussed his sexuality.\r\n&amp;quot;Listen, there&amp;apos;s no question that some New Yorkers think I&amp;apos;m gay, and voted for me nevertheless. The vast majority don&amp;apos;t care, and others don&amp;apos;t think I am. And I don&amp;apos;t give a s*** either way!&amp;quot; he told New York."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/ed-koch-former-new-york-city-mayor-dies-at-88-201312>