Former Mayor Ed Koch was hospitalized yesterday, suffering from anemia.
“He’s been looking weak recently,” said George Arzt, his former press secretary. “He isn’t eating like he used to.”
Koch, 87, checked into Columbia-Presbyterian on the advice of a longtime physician friend. He was expected to be released after treatment, perhaps as early as today.
Koch served as mayor for 12 years starting in 1978 and remains an influential political force.
Last year, his endorsement of Republican Bob Turner over Democrat David Weprin in a Brooklyn congressional race helped propel Turner to a stunning upset victory.The ex-mayor underwent a quadruple bypass in 2009 after suffering a heart attack and stroke.To celebrate the success of the operation, he later invited 20 of his doctors and their spouses to dinner at the Peter Luger steak house.