Jonathan Mahler’s new book looks back at the tumultuous period between 1986 and 1990 when figures such as Trump, Koch and Giuliani forever affected the city
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onathan Mahler didn’t plan to publish his new book about New York City from 1986 to 1990, tumultuous years culminating in a historic mayoral election, amid a similarly dramatic campaign for city hall. But he’s not unhappy to do so.
The Gods of New York tells how the Democrat Ed Koch sought a fourth term as mayor but by election year, 1989, was widely seen as an “incumbent plagued by scandal, just like Eric Adams now”, Mahler said.
“We had Rudy Giuliani, the tough guy from the outer boroughs – in Giuliani’s case Brooklyn, now in Andrew Cuomo’s case, Queens. And then we had the candidate of color who was saying: ‘I’m going to take the city back for the people who are getting left out.’ It was David Dinkins then and it’s Zohran Mamdani now.”
