The very fact that I became mayor in 1977 conveys how you can't figure out what the people will do. Nobody thought I would be elected. When I entered I got four percent of the vote in the first poll, four percent.

I love being the mayor. I want to be the mayor forever.

I'm coming to the end of my life. I do reflect on what I've done for the 85 years that I have been given so far. And I'm proud of what I've done.

Citizens, thank you for all your birthday wishes. I am 88 years old today and still lucky to live in the greatest city in the world.

I'm just a simple Jewish boy from the Bronx.

There was always a love-hate relationship with New York in the rest of the country, but I made them feel more love than hate.

The knife of corruption endangered the life of New York City. The scalpel of the law is making us well again.