That phrase is forever linked to Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York, who passed away yesterday. He was a fiesty guy who never shied away from a camera or a question from the media.

In fact, he sought out the media and would often follow them around. In this day and age when politicians are often unavailable and carefully presented to the press, he was unusual. He wanted the attention. Here are some of the quotes he was famous for as as listed by the WSJ today:

“How’m I doing?” became Koch’s catchphrase. He started using it as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, when he handed out literature at subway stations on Friday mornings. No one stopped — until he started asking this question.

“We’re not going to let these b——s bring us to our knees!” As mayor, Koch famously hollered as a he walked across the Brooklyn Bridge with commuters during the 1980 transit strike.

“If they want a parade, let them parade in front of the oil drums in Moonachie," Koch said in 1987 when he denied the New York Giants a permit for a parade after their Super Bowl victory. Moonachie is a town near the team’s football stadium in New Jersey.

“The mayor is not a coward — and the mayor is also not a schmuck,” Koch said as mayor when he refused to pose for a photo with a tiger.

“If you don’t like the president, it costs you 90 bucks to fly to Washington to picket. If you don’t like the governor, it costs you 60 bucks to fly to Albany to picket. If you don’t like me — 90 cents,“ Koch once said, referring to the price of a subway token.

“I’m not the type to get ulcers. I give them,” Koch said of his propensity to speak his mind.

He was unique. What did you think of him?