Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch dead at 88

Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch has died at the age of 88. According to ABC News, a spokesman for the brash, confrontational and sometimes controversial mayor confirmed his death on Friday morning.

Koch had recently been admitted to the hospital to be treated for water in his lungs. He had been battling pneumonia since December.

The former mayor is credited with bringing the city of New York back from its brush with bankruptcy in the late 1970s. He was elected in 1978 and served until 1989.

A documentary about his life, entitled "Koch," opens this week in New York.

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