Michael’s Story

“My name is Michael, and I was born in Dutchess County, New York. I graduated high school, went to a private school. My mother was a pediatrician, and my dad was a Hells Angel, so it was kind of a weird combination. I used to hang out at the Third Street Hells Angels Clubhouse as a little boy. And, we got a place on the Upper East Side where we’re talking right now, and what happened was I started getting into trouble, a little bit. So, my mother said, let’s go back to Dutchess County. So my dad built a house, we moved back to Dutchess County. That’s where I graduated, and then I went to Tulane University, down in New Orleans. Graduated with a degree in art history and a music degree.

I stayed in New Orleans twenty-nine years playing music. I played three years with B.B. King, we had our own band, we used to work seven days a week back in the 80s and 90s, and we made great money. And, I got married… I’ve been married four times… but I have one daughter, who’s 32 and lives in Astoria, Queens, who’s got a business degree, and I put her through college so she didn’t have to pay student loans. I’ve been in four really bad motorcycle accidents because I drink too much, livin’ on Bourbon Street. That’s all you do is drink down there. And everybody was buying you drinks; I didn’t even have to pay for any drinks. So I developed cirrhosis.

So I came back to New York because my dad always put me on the books, and said that, um, ‘someday you’ll need your benefits.’ So my social security, all of that stuff I’m working on right now. And I met this woman, and we moved right over here to Trump Palace, right there. [He pointed to the Trump Palace building directly across the street, on East 69^th St. and 3^rd Ave.] My apartment was that window, there. See above where the white flowers are? That was my window and my corner. I used to look out that window every day. And, she committed suicide… [His voice trailed off and he began to cry] She worked on Wall Street, and committed suicide; she hung herself in the closet, and I said, ‘I gotta get out of here.’ So, I pissed through $8,000 of money that I had saved, livin’ on the streets, in about six months. I was living out of Grand Central, and sleeping in the parks, Bryant Park.

The BRC [a large organization that serves homeless New Yorkers] got in touch with me, and they got me into a program called Safe Haven, right on the corner of Bowery and Bleecker. There’s 40 guys living there, in huge rooms, and we can take hot showers when we want, come and go as we want. We have our own laundry, they supply detergent… they supply, like, everything. And, it’s hard living with, you know, 40 guys. They’re working on my housing right now, and that’s where I’m at. But, I don’t receive any benefits except for food stamps, and that’s why I sit here, because this is where the money’s at. I’m not going to sit in the Bowery, so I walk… 140 blocks a day, seven days a week. That’s on 2^nd, and this is 68^th. So, that’s where I’m at right now. And that’s my good friend over there, with the cart. I watch his stuff, and he watches my stuff. He’s a friend of mine.

And, that’s where I’m at right now, waiting for my housing to come through, and trying to get my life back together. I go to Presbyterian Hospital, and they’re trying to treat my cirrhosis. I’ve been on the transplant list; I’m waiting for that. I used to be 185 pounds and I’m down to 152 right now. When I was a musician my hair used to be down to here, now I cut it all off because I started looking rasta. Living on the street, showering, like, twice a week, I couldn’t get a comb through it, so I cut all my hair off. And that’s where I’m at right now. I’m good. I do the best I can; I’m a good boy.”

When I asked if he’s still in contact with his daughter, he said:

“She’s giving me tough love right now, but it’s still love.”

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For more information on the BRC’s Safe Haven program, please visit: http://www.brc.org/safe-haven