When Mayor Ed Koch died last week, the Diocese of Brooklyn lost a good friend.
I had forgotten how good a friend he was until I began to do some research, with an able assist from the now retired diocesan spokesman Frank DeRosa.
I had been Editor for only two years when an ugly controversy arose over Brooklyn College’s refusal to consider Brooklyn Bishop Francis J. Mugavero for an honorary degree. Members of the college’s faculty balked over the granting of such an honor to the bishop because of his support for Church teaching on homosexuality.
Enter Mayor Koch, who was incensed over the slap in the face of our bishop. To make up for the slight, Koch declared he would honor the bishop with the city’s LaGuardia Medal.
And so it was that the mayor presided over a full City Council assembly in City Hall and presented Bishop Mugavero with the medal. The gay lobby protested outside on the steps of City Hall. Visitors had to be escorted through a gauntlet of placards. But Koch stood strong, refused to cower under the pressure and personally bestowed the medal upon our bishop.
Mayor Koch and Bishop Mugavero had a special working relationship. It was the bishop who led the first contingent from East Brooklyn Churches to meet with Koch over the proposed Nehemiah Houses in Brownsville and East New York. Bishop Mugavero had put up $1 million in loans to EBC to help fund Nehemiah. When they visited City Hall, he asked the mayor to match the money, to which Koch replied, “We haven’t got it, bishop; our funds are all committed. We’ll give you the land though.”
Thus began one of the most successful housing programs in the city. People would be able to purchase a new home in Brooklyn for only $43,000, with a promise to repay another $10,000 upon selling it.
A few years later in 1989, as Bishop Mugavero was preparing to retire from active duty because he was reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Mayor Koch threw a lavish testimonial dinner at Gracie Mansion to honor the bishop’s great contributions to the city.
Of course, the relationship between Mayor Koch and the late Cardinal John J. O’Connor is legendary. The two even penned a book together. A visitor to the mayor’s bedside in the hospital shortly before his death noted that the prayer card from Cardinal O’Connor’s funeral was on the night table.
Another good friend of the mayor was Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan, who as director of Catholic Charities interacted often with the city government.
Koch once quipped that he was glad Bishop Sullivan was a priest and could not run for office because he would not have wanted to run against him.
The last time I saw Mayor Koch was at the Al Smith Dinner last October. He didn’t look well, and he was sitting alone on the side of the reception room. Passing by, I simply reached out and shook his hand and said, “Good evening, Mr. Mayor.” To which he responded with a smile and handshake.
In a recent interview, the mayor said that he was always glad when people said hello to him because it meant he was not forgotten. I was glad I greeted him that evening. Mayor Koch always will be remembered in this city as a good friend of the people and a kindred spirit to people of faith.
