Forget breakfast at Tiffany’s — for a generation of New Yorkers, the real deal was breakfast at Ed’s.
Mayor Koch was famous for hosting long, leisurely weekend brunches in his rent-controlled Greenwich Village apartment — which he moved into in 1965 and left in 1989, when his rent was $475. He loved his cozy, book-filled one-bedroom apartment so much he let reporters inside for his 1978 Inauguration Day, serving them coffee as he ate grapefruit before his swearing-in.
PHOTOS: REMEMBERING FORMER NYC MAYOR ED KOCH
Koch liked to fire up the grill on his expansive, landscaped terrace at 14 Washington Place, said neighbor Mary Tierney, 66.
“He lived in Gracie Mansion, but on the weekends he would come here because he loved the Village,” Tierney said. “His apartment was beautiful, and it had a beautiful view.”
RELATED: KOCH PAL MYERSON A CONSTANT BY HIS SIDE
Tierney was Koch’s neighbor and employee — she worked for him at City Hall and he’d often call her to his 12A apartment on Saturdays to take dictation. The two often stared up at the Empire State Building as they worked.
Doorman Frank Lappi, 60, recalled Koch got stuck in the elevator with his security detail for about 20 minutes one night on his way up to his apartment. Lappi called the elevator company and workers got the mayor out. A week later, the super called Lappi downstairs. There stood Koch, who insisted on taking the doorman to Umberto’s for lunch.
RELATED: ED KOCH'S QUOTABLE MOMENTS
“He said, ‘Have whatever you want. It’s on me.’ It was his way of thanking me,” recalled Lappi.
Koch moved to a Fifth Ave. high-rise after losing the 1989 election, but stayed in his beloved Village. His new place was just across Washington Square Park.
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Mayor Koch was famous for hosting long, leisurely weekend brunches in his rent-controlled Greenwich Village apartment — which he moved into in 1965 and left in 1989, when his rent was $475. He loved his cozy, book-filled one-bedroom apartment so much he let reporters inside for his 1978 Inauguration Day, serving them coffee as he ate grapefruit before his swearing-in.
PHOTOS: REMEMBERING FORMER NYC MAYOR ED KOCH
Koch liked to fire up the grill on his expansive, landscaped terrace at 14 Washington Place, said neighbor Mary Tierney, 66.
“He lived in Gracie Mansion, but on the weekends he would come here because he loved the Village,” Tierney said. “His apartment was beautiful, and it had a beautiful view.”
RELATED: KOCH PAL MYERSON A CONSTANT BY HIS SIDE
Tierney was Koch’s neighbor and employee — she worked for him at City Hall and he’d often call her to his 12A apartment on Saturdays to take dictation. The two often stared up at the Empire State Building as they worked.
Doorman Frank Lappi, 60, recalled Koch got stuck in the elevator with his security detail for about 20 minutes one night on his way up to his apartment. Lappi called the elevator company and workers got the mayor out. A week later, the super called Lappi downstairs. There stood Koch, who insisted on taking the doorman to Umberto’s for lunch.
RELATED: ED KOCH'S QUOTABLE MOMENTS
“He said, ‘Have whatever you want. It’s on me.’ It was his way of thanking me,” recalled Lappi.
Koch moved to a Fifth Ave. high-rise after losing the 1989 election, but stayed in his beloved Village. His new place was just across Washington Square Park.
[email protected] and [email protected]