Former Mayor Ed Koch is out of the hospital.

Koch was released from New York-Presbyterian Hospital Monday morning.

He had spent the last week being treated for a respiratory infection.

Koch turns 88 on Wednesday and will celebrate with a party at Gracie Mansion.

Speaking to reporters, hKoch said it's important to be with his friends and family.

"But had I not been well enough and the doctor had said to me stay, I would have stayed and we would have made arrangements that I would have telephoned in in some TV way. So the party was gonna go on whether I was alive or dead," Koch said.

The former mayor will also return to his role on "Inside City Hall" Tuesday as one of the NY1 Wiseguys.