NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York's Queensboro Bridge will be renamed for Ed Koch, officials announced on Wednesday, honoring the colorful former mayor who liked to greet voters with his trademark question: "How'm I doin'?"
The bridge, which spans the East River connecting the city's Manhattan and Queens boroughs, will be named for Koch ahead of his 86th birthday on Sunday, city officials said.
"I'm honored and deeply grateful to Mayor Bloomberg and the city," Koch said. "This was done completely without my knowledge, and I was shocked and delighted when I found out."
Koch served three terms as mayor from 1978 to 1989, presiding over the city during times of prosperity and some of its worst struggles with crime, homelessness, the AIDS crisis and racial tensions.
His administration was riddled with corruption and he alienated swathes of residents, especially minorities, by the time he lost his attempt for a fourth term.
Since leaving office, Koch has practiced law, worked the lecture circuit, hosted a radio show and authored books. He regularly writes movie and restaurant reviews, served as a judge on television's "The People's Court" and appeared in such movies as "Sex and the City" and "The Muppets Take Manhattan."
The name change still must be approved by the City Council, which is likely to give its blessing.
Also, the city's Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel will be renamed after former New York Governor Hugh Carey, who served from 1975 to 1982. The tunnel lies beneath the East River, connecting downtown Manhattan with the city's Brooklyn borough.
Carey is often credited with helping rebuild New York City after the financial crisis of the 1970s.
(Reporting by Bernd Debusmann Jr., editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Greg McCune)
