Ed Koch

I think that every Saturday, we ought to say, 'My father's a Jew, my mother was a Jew, and I'm a Jew,' with great pride. ”

If you listen to Giuliani, it's like nobody did anything to improve the city except him. I'm not part of the history. Bloomberg's not part of the history. It's like, he did it. He's the only one. That's why he's a little crazy. ”

I'm sure that people who elected me, some of them thought I was gay, some of them thought I wasn't gay, and most of them didn't care. ”

I'm just a simple Jewish boy from the Bronx. ”

Jews have always thought that having someone elevated with his head above the grass was not good for the Jews. I never felt that way. I believe that you have to stand up. ”

I never doubted that I would be a good mayor. I never did. ”

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. ”

I'm confident President Obama will continue his unambiguous commitment to the Jewish state in his second term. ”

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. ”

It's a lot more fun being a critic than being the one criticized. ”