1981 New York City mayoral election 1981 New York City mayoral election The New York City mayoral election of 1981 occurred on Tuesday, November 3, 1981, with Democratic incumbent Mayor Ed Koch being re-elected to a second term by a landslide margin. Koch, a Democrat, also received the endorsement of and ran on the Republican Party ballot line. Koch received an overwhelming 74.64% of the vote citywide. Koch also swept all five boroughs by landslide margins, breaking 60% of the vote in Manhattan and breaking 70% of the vote in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Koch's closest competitor was the short-lived New York Unity
Staten Island Tunnel funded by the city, the tunnel was expected to help expand the then-sparsely populated borough in a similar manner to the population and development explosions seen in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Under the Dual Contracts, three routes were proposed—two to Brooklyn and one to Manhattan—which would connect the Staten Island Railway's rapid transit service (SIRT) to existing subway lines. The Manhattan proposal, often called the "direct route," would have connected with the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT)'s lines under Battery Park, near the current Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel. "Direct Route A" would have utilized a five-section tunnel under the New York Harbor,