Ed Koch might be 86 years old, but he plans on sticking around for awhile -- at least as long as there's talk that one day, state lawmakers might approve a toll on the newly re-named Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.
"I'll stand there like Horatio preventing it," quipped the former three-term mayor, who schmoozed with former Mayor David Dinkins and the current occupant of City Hall, Michael Bloomberg, at a Water Club reception Thursday night.
Mayor Bloomberg pushed the City Council to rename the 102-year old span, bestowing an unusual honor upon a still-living former mayor.
"We all stand, Ed, on your shoulders," Bloomberg said.
He told the crowd the bridge linking Manhattan's East Side to Long Island City is "a real workhorse, just like Ed."
Bloomberg also told NBC New York that taxpayers don't need to worry about the cost of replacing signs.
Private donations are covering that expense.
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Convincing New Yorkers to use the new name is another matter.
"Not that Ed Koch isn't relevant," said Alexis Saraga, who was walking home from work on Second Avenue, near the bridge. "But he's not prevalent in my day-to-day life as a New Yorker. This bridge will always be the Queensboro Bridge to me."
Koch said he's not offended by any initial reluctance. With emphasis on initial.
"That's normal," he said. "But it will ultimately catch on because I'll be shouting it everywhere I go."
