“Citizens, thank you for all your birthday wishes. I am 88 years old today and still lucky to live in the greatest city in the world.”

“Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That's how I get my kicks.”

“If you don't like the President, it costs you 90 bucks to fly to Washington to picket. If you don't like the governor, it costs you 60 bucks to fly to Albany to picket. If you don't like me - 90 cents.”

“I know many writers who first dictate passages, then polish what they have dictated. I speak, then I polish - occasionally I do windows.”

“Citizens, thank you for all your birthday wishes. I am 88 years old today and still lucky to live in the greatest city in the world.”

“The best way to lose weight is to close your mouth - something very difficult for a politician. Or watch your food - just watch it, don't eat it.”

“Stereotypes lose their power when the world is found to be more complex than the stereotype would suggest. When we learn that individuals do not fit the group stereotype, then it begins to fall apart.”

“You punch me, I punch back. I do not believe it's good for one's self-respect to be a punching bag.”

“You don't have to love them. You just have to respect their rights.”

“Ed Koch will never 'rest in peace.' That was not his way. He was always nervously squirming, while making others squirm as well. Comfort was not his goal. He understood that to be a proud and assertive Jew meant never being able to leave a sigh of relief and say, 'It's over, we are at peace, we can now put down our guard and relax.'”