NYC Mayor Ed Koch Wanted To Use Wild Wolves To Stop Graffiti On Subways

Former New York City mayor Ed Koch, who died on Friday, once suggested using wild wolves to keep graffiti artists away from parked subway trains.

In an interview with La Guardia and Wagner Archives, posted by Gothamist, Koch explains that to stop rampant vandalizing at train yards, he first wanted to bring in guard dogs. When told the dogs might bite, he proposed wolves, arguing there was no case of a wolf ever biting a human in North America.

When reporter Clyde Haberman told Koch that domesticated wolves had attacked humans before, Koch called for wild wolves:

"You put the wolf in, and if after a certain period of time, it becomes domesticated, you replace him. You bring in another wild one."

Watch the interview: