NEW YORK (AP) — Presidents, political allies and even adversaries are paying tribute to former New York City Mayor Ed Koch (KAHCH') as his funeral plans are finalized.
Praise and remembrances have poured in since the brash, opinionated politician who led the city in the late 1970s and '80s died Friday of congestive heart failure at age 88.
President Barack Obama says Koch "always informed and enlivened the public discourse." Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton praised him as a leader who "stood up for the underprivileged and underrepresented."
Koch helped New York climb out of a financial crisis and regain optimism and energy during his three terms — from 1978 to 1989.
His funeral will be Monday at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.
