NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A slew of prominent New York Democrats are calling for former Mayor Ed Koch’s name to be removed from the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge at 59th Street.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Grace Meng and Hakeem Jeffries all said they support a name change in response to a survey distributed by the Jim Owles LGBT Democratic Club.
In an interview with the Village Sun, the club’s president Allen Roskoff described Koch as “a mayor who stood idly by while the AIDS holocaust devastated gay New Yorkers and other marginalized communities, and who routinely ignored and insulted the city’s people of color.”
Jim Owles, a former romantic partner Roskoff’s and the namesake for the organization, died from AIDS under Koch’s term as mayor.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Sen. Chuck Schumer both conspicuously refused to answer the question.
Councilmember Chi Ossé told the New York Post he’s working on a resolution to rename the bridge, which was named after Koch in 2011.
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