In September 2014, POV asked Koch filmmaker Neil Barsky what's happened since the cameras stopped rolling.
Ed Koch passed away in February 2013 on the day that Koch was theatrically released. What happened in his life after filming completed? What was his reaction to the film?
Ed Koch and I agreed he would have no input or control over the film, but I agreed to show up a rough cut before we locked. One day, he and his close friend Diane Coffey came to our editing offices, and we all nervously watched them watch the movie. Upon its conclusion, there was silence. Then Ed said, "I will take a reel with me to my grave." So he liked it. Subsequently he complained about how we depicted certain issues — his handling of race relations, for example — but overall I'd say he liked the movie. After we were done filming, he continued his work in city politics — to the end of his life, his candidate endorsements were highly coveted and influential.
How have audiences reacted to the film, particularly in New York City?
People in NYC, and outside New York, tend to be blown away at how the city looked in the late 1970s and 1980s. People tend to forget the graffiti, the burn-out buildings, the armies of homeless people, and the film as a lot of amazing archival footage. As well, people seemed to enjoy watching Ed Koch at work back when he as mayor and when we filmed — he could be a bully, obnoxious, funny, charming, smart or any combination!
Koch's relationships to the LGBT community, his fellow politicians and colleagues and the black community play a large part in his legacy. How have audiences in those communities reacted to the film?
Over the years, Koch's relationship with the African-American community tended to improve, as he reached out to mend fences with figures such as the Rev. Al Sharpton or Rev. Calvin Butts. His relationship with much of the LGBT community deteriorated, however, as bitterness grew over his administration's slowness in addressing the AIDS crisis.
What are you working on next?
I am the chairman and founder of The Marshall Project, the non-profit journalism organization dedicated to covering the US criminal justice system. We will principally be a digital news outfit, but I suspect we will be producing documentary film somewhere down the road, as well!