Mayor Dinkins dies at 92, New Yorkers mourn
David Dinkins, the former mayor of New York City, has died.
Dinkins, 92, passed away from natural causes at his Upper East Side home around 9:30 p.m.
“A home health aide had discovered Dinkins was not breathing and called 911,” sources said.
His death came a little over a month after his wife, Joyce, died at 89, at their home.
Dinkins — who defeated three-term incumbent Ed Koch in the 1989 Democratic primary — beat Republican Rudy Giuliani that year to become the city’s 106th mayor.
While issuing her condolences, Gale A. Brewer, Manhattan Borough President stated “Dinkins was not only my boss but my friend and inspiration.
“I knew him as a man of firsts: first male member of Manhattan National Women’s Political Caucus; First African-American Mayor of NYC, whom I served.”
He added that “We will miss his genuine warmth, kindness, love of children, dignity, and perfect clothes.
“It was my honor to host his 92nd birthday at the Municipal that bears his name. All New Yorkers will regret his passing and miss his strength and resolve.”
Mike Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City, wrote on his Facebook page that David Dinkins’s groundbreaking mayoral victory in 1989 helped New York City turn an important corner in racial equality.
“He entered City Hall at a difficult time in New York’s history, and he helped set the city on a course for success – and a reduction in crime – that no one at the time imagined possible.
“He was always generous to me during my time in office, for which I was grateful — and I took every opportunity to remind people that mayors after him stood on his shoulders and built on his legacy,” Bloomberg wrote on Facebook.
“Today, while others may remember his distinguished and courtly demeanor, I will always remember a man, a Marine, a mayor and a friend who was deeply proud of his service to his city and country – and rightly so,” he added.
Also, Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, mourned the death of Dinkins on Monday night.
“I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Mayor David Dinkins, and to the many New Yorkers who loved and supported him,” Giuliani wrote on Twitter.
“He gave a great deal of his life in service to our great City. That service is respected and honored by all,” he added.
He stated that Dinkins led the nation’s largest city two decades before Barack Obama was elected the first African American president.
“David Dinkins was a forerunner to Barack Obama. He was elected saying the same things,” said civil rights activist Al Sharpton.
“He helped to change the psychology of American politics, making it more inclusive and more progressive,” he said.
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