Tiffany Nicholas

9199 NYC Speechmaking – Notes on a NYC Mayoral Inaugural Address

Mayor Koch 1986 Speech

As Edward Koch approached his third and final term as the Mayor of New

York City, he was determined to continue to revitalize, restore, and rebuild the five boroughs within the city of New York as he had substantially improved the city from the fiscal crisis from 1977. Within Koch’s Mayoral Inaugural Address he displayed his hopes and aspirations for New York City and its people, despite the tough economical times the city faced as he met difficult obstacles to get through successfully.

Pride, Resilience, and Determination set the tone and style throughout the Inaugural address, this is what he used to attain the public’s security and trust to ensure that he will continue to work hard to make NYC a better place for a promising future. Within the first and second terms as mayor, Ed Koch brought New York out of its heavy debt crisis and planned to sustain and develop more from what he already implemented. The structure of the starts with reflection of his first appointment as mayor and flows into how the city has developed and re-cooperated from its destitute state prior to his terms as mayor. He shows vulnerability and relays honesty in sharing his concerns and fears with taking on the task of cleaning the state of the city as their new leader. Throughout the years of rebuilding, Koch has seen victories from new policies and plans he implemented and set forth to improve the city, especially urban areas. He promises to continue fiscal security, protect the poor, taking into consideration the housing crisis, and a significant effort in preserving New York’s reputation of being the epicenter of “genius” and a “battleground” for ideas and innovation for the best to thrive in this city.

The topics that Ed Koch addressed dealt with every aspect of the issues the city faced as he was determined to bring resolve to these matters with a resilient, charismatic nature. Koch used certain ideograph’s within his speech such as “We won’t rest” and “We will never be satisfied”, as he stated his unwavering and relentless determination to see that progress is made to improve these conditions that are ills of the city. Koch shares empathy with New Yorkers within his speech as he stated “I understand the frustrations of New Yorks who find themselves alternately confronted by problems and progress. ” In Koch’s previous terms during the subway strike from MTA workers, he walked across the Brooklyn Bridge with NY commuters to get to work, as he shared in their frustrations.

Within the 1985 election in which Ed Koch won his third term as New York City Mayor, receiving 428,837 votes and 78% of electoral votes. His competing candidates for this position was former city council President Carol Bellamy who was the Liberal Party representative, as she received 126,443 votes, which was 19% of the votes, and the Republican Party representative was Diane McGrath receiving 101,688 votes, which was 9.14% of the electoral votes. (Goldman, L.A. Times, 1985) Koch’s mayoral opponents have voiced disdain concerning Koch’s negligence of the New York City subways

and schools destitute conditions. They alleged that Koch was giving priority to real estate interests to fuel construction firms, which are allies and supporters of the Koch administration. Prior to Koch’s third term, he had the first and second mayoral terms under his belt from winning the 1978 election in New York City. Previous to winning the first term, Koch was a Democratic United States Representative for N.Y.’s 17th congressional district from January 1969 to January 1973. He also was Democratic U.S. Representative for N.Y.’s 18th Congressional district until 1977, and then resigned to become N.Y.C.’s mayor. During his time in Congress, Koch’s life was threatened by two officers of the Uruguay Intelligence Unit, after he proposed the United States cut off military aid and supplies to the government of Uruguay. Koch experienced a lot of opposition within his previous political career, which prepared him to face the arduous task of taking on the tumultuous issues and status of New York City in 1978.

The composition of the 1986 mayoral speech of Koch entailed high aspirations, realistic expectations, and an outcry for support from its citizens to their part to ensure a brighter and better future for the city. His vision was to continue to rebuild and create innovating ideas for a futuristic city. The public’s overall reaction to the election’s results was of relief and excitement being they instilled trust in Koch’s leadership based off of the results he has produced and work that has been done. “Koch has been called "the quintessential New Yorker," and New Yorkers reelected him last November to a third four-year term in the $110,000-a-year post with three-quarters of the vote, the biggest landslide in New York mayoral election history.” (Kunen, People Magazine,1986). The public appreciated a mayor like Ed Koch because he took New York as it was in its raw state and improved the city, especially within the urban neighborhoods, parks, housing, and lowered crime rates. Although the African American community did not favor former mayor Ed Koch as he allowed racial polarization to take place under his terms as he was insensitive to the minorities issues, but they knew his work within the city was respectable. “Even the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, the pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, who tangled frequently with Mr. Koch over what he felt was the mayor’s insensitivity to African-Americans, said Mr. Koch was the right mayor for his time.” (Berger, N.Y. Times, 2013.

To expound upon the strength and vigor the city maintained through its tumultuous times during his terms, Koch included the following passages as a metaphor to explain the tenacity and endurance the city had, “If you're trying for the top, you cannot top New York. Yes, New York is a great city but the Big Apple does not grow in the Garden of Eden. If anything, New York is the entire Book of Genesis, all the faith and furor, all the trials and triumphs, all 50 chapters rolled into five boroughs. And who knows? New York might even get 40 days and 40 nights of rain. And if we do, this city of seven and a half million Noahs will be ready,

and so will our reservoirs.” Koch used the example of the first book of the bible to equate the amount of “faith and furor” that New York City as the characters of the Book of Genesis had during their tumultuous times in their lives.

Former Mayor Ed Koch mentioned President Reagan and his administration within his speech, as he stated how his current policies inadvertently held back the movement of progress. Koch viewed Regan’s policies and standpoint as heartless and shortsighted. He also noted Governor Cuomo as he acknowledged him for aiding him and seeking to help resolve issues Koch was facing with the city’s health facilities and residences by recommending a joint state-city task force. Koch was the type of mayor that believed that it took the help of everyone from U.S. government to the next-door neighbor to help rebuild New York City. As the following quotations represent the essential aspect of his speech, “we are surrounded notonly by that special skyline which makes New York City unique and known throughout the world but also by people who are descendants of those who built this city and are themselves building it and what they are building is not simply brick and mortar. They are building a city of opportunity, they are building a city of tolerance, of hope, of diversity. They are building tomorrow. They are building the very city of New York.”

Key Terms:

1) Intractable – hard to control or deal with.

2) Quietude- a state of stillness, calmness, and quiet in a person or place.

3) Mortar -a weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as (mortar) bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories

Further Readings:

1)POLITICSby Ed Koch(Nov 2, 2007)

2)I'm Not Done Yet: Keeping at It, Remaining Relevant, and Having the Time of My Lifeby Edward I. Koch and Daniel Paisner(Nov 2000)

3)His Eminence and Hizzoner: A Candid Exchange : Mayor Edward Koch and John Cardinal O'Connorby John Joseph Cardinal O'Connor and Ed Koch(Mar 1989)

Citations:

1)Goldman, John J. "Koch Wins by Landslide in N.Y. Mayoral Primary; Young Scores Victory in Detroit." Los Angeles Times 11 Sept. 1985. Web. 29 July 2015.

2)Berger, Joseph. "So, How’d He Do?" New York Times 2 Feb. 2013. Web. 29 July 2015. <

3)Kunen, James S. "Mayor Ed Koch Tries to Survive as New York, New York Is Plunged into Scandal, Scandal." People 31 Mar. 1986. Web. 29 July 2015. <