He Knew He Would Be a Dancer, But Not Where It Might Lead

Abstract

One of Alfred Gallman's earliest memories is seeing "Cinderella" performed at Public School 75 in the Bronx when he was in the third grade. His piece "Mother's Prayer" was performed at the White House, and Mr. Gallman has worked at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and throughout the world in South Africa and Jamaica, Japan and Switzerland, as well as with such luminaries as Alvin Ailey and Fred Benjamin. In 2018, Mr. Gallman received a lifetime achievement award from the Newark branch of the N.A.A.C.P. At the time, he was living in his cousin's one-bedroom apartment in Co-op City. The cousin unexpectedly moved back in, booting Mr. Gallman from the bedroom. In 2020, a case manager working with Mr. Gallman's health insurance company, who was helping him with his care after two strokes, suggested he enter a housing lottery for a new TF Cornerstone development in Long Island City, Queens. The monthly rent for the one-bedroom was $2,600, but because he qualified for subsidies, Mr. Gallman was told he would pay only $883. Furnishing the place would have taken much longer if not for Selfhelp Community Services, a help center for older adults, on the ground floor of the building. A staff member there found out Mr. Gallman was sleeping on a cot, so she helped him apply for funding to get a bed.