At the desk of: Ed Koch 

The great development wave that crested a few years ago in many ways began to gather force under Ed Koch, the 105th mayor of New York. Under Koch’s leadership from 1978 to 1989, the city got its financial house in order, which was comforting to real estate investors. Plus, large-scale projects took root; one was the rebirth of Times Square, which Koch paved the way for by beating back 47 lawsuits aiming to stop the development there. Still, Koch, 87, whose corner office at law firm Bryan Cave packs in a long career’s worth of honors, may be best remembered for a more recent event: adding his name to a landmark. In March, the City Council decided the steel span at East 59th Street should now be called the “Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.”