FAMILY:
JOY:
Koch plays with Jordan and Noah Thaler, two of sister Pat’s many grandkids, in a 1997 photo that reveals the private side of one of the city’s most public mayors. (Jon Thaler)
Facing off with grandnephew Noah in 2002.” />
WHO YOU CALLIN’ A PATZER?
Facing off with grandnephew Noah in 2002. (Jon Thaler)
SQUEEZY DOES IT:
Giving grandniece Perri Thaler a hug and a peck in 2009. (Jon Thaler)
It’s the Ed Koch you’ve never seen before.
The famously pugnacious — and frequently potty-mouthed — pol looks every bit the doting granddad in these never-before-seen photos of the lifelong bachelor and his great-nieces and -nephews.
The hard-charging Koch so relished spending time with his sister’s grandchildren that the confirmed Manhattanite even made pilgrimages to the city’s northern suburbs — which he once famously derided as “sterile” — for some quality rest and relaxation.
“He came up here a lot,” Jon Thaler, his nephew, told The Post.
And he found a refuge there.
“He’d sit around the house, go to games. I don’t think he minded the clean air,” Thaler recalled.
Thaler, a Scarsdale resident, was a senior in high school when Koch, his maternal uncle, was elected mayor in 1977.
At the time, the family — including Thaler’s two brothers and his cousin — would often come to Gracie Mansion, where Koch played gracious host.
The cousin had her bat mitzvah at the mayoral residence, which was also a stage for barbecues, parties and holiday meals.
“I remember sitting around, having Thanksgiving dinner there,” he said.
“He was great, but he wasn’t super-available then, just because of the commitments of his job.”
All that changed after Koch was voted out of office.
With more free time, he became a regular presence at the suburban homes of his nephews, who by then had kids of their own.
The never-married Koch wasn’t exactly a natural around the tots.
“When our kids were really little, he was so afraid to hold them,” Thaler recalled.
But as the kids grew, so did Hizzoner’s level of comfort.
“My kids, my brothers’ kids, they are sort of like surrogate grandchildren to him,” Thaler said. “I’m happy that people can see another aspect of his life.”
As he was in life, Koch died surrounded by his family, who took shifts sitting in the hospital with him.
“He had a great life and a great legacy. All of our kids are a part of his legacy, and I think he felt that,” Thaler said. “He loved them. It was just unconditional love.”
