I was drafted into the Army when I was 19 and came out at age 22. Most people that I knew didn’t think they’d come home alive. I didn’t think I would either, so I was happy when I did. – Ed Koch
I think I have a very good reputation amongst the gay population and among the whole country because I stood up on the issue of gay rights. It is not easy to stand up on that issue when you are single and male in New York City. I did it anyway. – Ed Koch
When I came in, the city was on the edge of bankruptcy. I’m proud of what I did. I built the foundation that mayors after me built upon – particularly Bloomberg. But the foundation was essential because if it hadn’t occurred, we would have been another Detroit. – Ed Koch
The best way to lose weight is to close your mouth – something very difficult for a politician. Or watch your food – just watch it, don’t eat it. – Ed Koch
My brain is good, but my body is deteriorating. I probably have another two or three years. Or I can pass tomorrow, but it doesn’t make a difference to me. – Ed Koch
If I were running against Chuck Schumer. I would take every one of his Sunday press releases – and there are 52 for as many years as he’s been there – and I would ask, ‘How many of the things he said he was proposing became law?’ I doubt many. – Ed Koch
There’s a nastiness out there that wants to harm me with words. These are my enemies – the ideologues, the populists, the columnists who don’t like the fact that I take them on toe-to-toe. What I try to do is tell the truth. It’s not the coin of the realm in politics. – Ed Koch
Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks. – Ed Koch
The knife of corruption endangered the life of New York City. The scalpel of the law is making us well again. – Ed Koch
Twelve years ago, if someone attacked me, I wouldn’t let them get away with it. I’d take them on. I now perceive my job to include allowing people to vent their rage. – Ed Koch
People get tired of you. So they decided to throw me out. And so help me God, as the numbers were coming in, I said to myself, ‘I’m free at last.’ – Ed Koch
If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist. – Ed Koch
There was always a love-hate relationship with New York in the rest of the country, but I made them feel more love than hate. – Ed Koch
Stereotypes lose their power when the world is found to be more complex than the stereotype would suggest. When we learn that individuals do not fit the group stereotype, then it begins to fall apart. – Ed Koch
Clinton has more important things to worry about. He not only risks being destroyed historically, like Afghanistan’s Buddha statues; he also could end up going to jail. – Ed Koch
I was not afraid of the press or the militants. It was uncomfortable, but I was not afraid. With respect to the press, I knew I knew more than they knew about city matters. With respect to the militants, I understood it. I mean, everybody believed in those days that they were being screwed, you know, that somebody was getting ahead of them. – Ed Koch
We’re in the hands of the state legislature and God, but at the moment, the state legislature has more to say than God. – Ed Koch
The mere process of growing old together will make the slightest acquaintance seem a bosom friend. – Ed Koch
