Post-mayoralty Years
In the years following his mayoralty, Koch became a partner in the law firm of Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn, and Berman LLP, (now Bryan Cave LLP) and became a commentator on politics, as well reviewing movies and restaurants, for newspapers, radio and television. He also became an adjunct professor at New York University (NYU) and was the judge on The People's Court for two years, following the retirement of Judge Joseph Wapner. In 1999, he was a visiting professor at Brandeis University. Koch regularly appears on the lecture circuit, and had a highly rated local talk show on WABC radio. He also hosts his own movie review video show on the web called The Mayor at the Movies.
In 2004, together with his sister Pat Koch Thaler, Koch wrote a children's book, Eddie, Harold's Little Brother; the book told the story of Koch's own childhood, when he tried unsuccessfully to emulate his older brother Harold's baseball talents, before realizing that he should instead focus on what he was already good at, which was telling stories and speaking in public.
In April 2008, Koch announced that he had secured a burial plot in Manhattan's non-denominational Trinity Cemetery, the only graveyard in Manhattan accepting new burials, stating "I don't want to leave Manhattan, even when I'm gone. This is my home. The thought of having to go to New Jersey was so distressing to me." For the inscription on his memorial stone, Koch has requested that the marker will bear the Star of David and the words from the Hebrew prayer Shema Yisrael, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One." It also will be inscribed with the last words of journalist Daniel Pearl before he was murdered by terrorists in 2002: "My father is Jewish. My mother is Jewish. I am Jewish." Koch explained that he had been moved that Pearl chose to affirm his faith and heritage in his last moments.
On March 23, 2011, the New York City Council voted to rename the Queensboro Bridge as the "Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge" in honor of the former mayor.
Read more about this topic: Ed Koch
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