David Dinkins, New Yorks first Black mayor, dies at 93

Dinkins died Monday evening at his residence on Manhattans Upper East Side in Manhattan, the New York City Police DepartmentThe department had received a call from Dinkins residence about an unconscious person having difficulty breathing, according to the New York City Police Department. . On Tuesday morning, de Blasio remembered Dinkins on social media as a mentor and friend. "Chirlane and I are mourning a truly great man. David Dinkins simply set this city on a better path," he tweeted with a photo of the pair. "He was my mentor, he was my friend, and his steadfast commitment to fight for that "gorgeous mosaic" inspires me every single day. Well keep up his fight," de Blasio"The first and the only Black mayor of NYC, he cherished our "gorgeous mosaic" & served the city & state over a career spanning decades with the hope of unity and a deep kindness," he wrote. "My friend, you will be missed. "Speaking frequently of what he called New Yorks "gorgeous mosaic" of racial, ethnic and religious diversity, Dinkins championed economic equality and education for people of color, and offered the city a calming alternative to the brash leadership of Ed Koch, whose tenure in office was often marked by strained race relations. But high crime, a national recession and several episodes of racial conflict largely defined Dinkins mayoralty in the early 1990s. Although it was under his leadership that the New York Police Department underwent a major expansion that would be credited with playing a significant role in driving down crime, he was ousted from office in 1993 in a close race by his political nemesis, Rudy Giuliani, who successfully painted Dinkins as an ineffectual leader unable to tame the citys high crime. "I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Mayor David Dinkins, and to the many New Yorkers who loved and supported him," the former mayor wrote. Dinkins was a genuine trailblazer in New York City history. As a member of the "Gang