Services will be held today for the popular and beloved former Mayor of New York, Ed Koch, who passed away Friday of congestive heart failure.
Former President Bill Clinton cut short his trip to Japan to return back home to New York to speak at today’s services for his longtime friend. Current New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will also attend and deliver the eulogy.
Other speakers will include Ido Aharoni, the Israeli consul general in New York; Diane Coffey, Koch’s longtime chief of staff, and John LoCicero, one of the former mayor’s top political advisers.
The service, which is scheduled to begin at 11 am, will conclude with a rendition of “New York, New York” and will be broadcast live on local New York television station NY1.
Before his death, Ed Koch left a note detailing his wishes to be buried in New York. “I don’t want to leave Manhattan, even when I’m gone,” the note said. “This is my home. The thought of having to go to New Jersey was so distressing to me.”
Ed Koch was 88.
