Ben Michalski Residence
Ben Michalski Residence
Building
Ben Michalski Residence
Date Opened
July 7, 1997
Residential Units
18 studio apartments
Development Partners
Architect: Cetra/Ruddy Architects
General Contractor: Lettire Construction
Major Funders: NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (provided the building), NYS Housing Homelessness Assistance Corporation and National Equity Fund
Building History
The Ben Michalski Residence was opened in July of 1997, after renovating a city-owned building into 18 single rooms with private bathrooms. It was financed with a grant from the New York State Homeless Housing Assistance Corporation, equity provided by the National Equity Fund through the Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program and loan from the Affordable Home Loan Bank. The building is named in honor of Ben Michalski who was a gay political activist on the upper west side of Manhattan, involved in progressive politics during the 1970s and 1980s. He was committed to a multiplicity of issues from mass transit to anti-gentrification. He died of AIDS in 1987.