The New York Post
All due respect to the former mayor of New York, but when the DVD screener of “Koch,” the documentary on NYC’s polarizing and transformational political figure, turned up on my doorstep I couldn’t help but think back to good old Video Shmideo in Victoria Court, and their section “Newly Dead.” Mr. Koch died only three weeks ago, so this is either amazing (or the worst) timing or the distributor Zeitgeist Films is striking while the street vendor’s pretzel is hot.
Ed Koch started life as a reformer on several difficult issues, including sodomy, in the early ’60s. He didn’t do well, but then he went on to win a seat in state legislature. As the doc opens, he is campaigning for mayor of New York in 1977, going up against other candidates like Bella Abzug and Mario Cuomo, speaking to potential voters as they stream out of the subway, asking “How am I doing?” and holding up a placard, all black Helvetica font on white, which seems just so NYC and so mid-’70s.