NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York City Mayor David Dinkins has been strengthened by all of the “messages of love and support” that he received during his hospital stay, his representative said Thursday.
In this Sept. 20, 2014 file photo, former New York City Mayor David Dinkins attends a memorial service for actress Ruby Dee at The Riverside Church in New York. Dinkins remains hospitalized at New York Presbyterian Hospital as he battles pneumonia. The 88-year-old former mayor was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 18, 2016. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)
Dinkins, 88, is home after nearly three weeks in the hospital for treatment of pneumonia.
“He is happy to be back home with his bride and recuperating from this recent illness,” the representative, Lynda Hamilton, said in an email.
“He thanks everyone who communicated messages of love and support during his hospital stay — all of those communications warmed his heart, lifted his spirits and helped strengthen him back to health,” she said.
Dinkins was admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital on the evening of Feb. 18; he was treated for pneumonia at the same hospital in 2013.
Dinkins, a Democrat and the first black mayor of the nation’s largest city, served one term, from 1990 to 1993. He is now a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Mayor Bill de Blasio met his wife, Chirlane McCray, then a speechwriter, while they were both working in the Dinkins administration.
Last October, de Blasio renamed a prominent Manhattan building after his former boss.
The David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building, a grand, landmarked structure, sits at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge and houses scores of government offices.