Wash Heights Street To Get Co-Named After Famed Dominican Doctor

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A street in Washington Heights is getting co-named after a renowned Dominican doctor who was the first Latino person in New York state to be executive director of a hospital.

On Oct. 15, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez and the rest of the City Council will host the street co-naming ceremony at West 166th Street and Audubon Ave.

The ceremony will honor the legacy of Dr. Nasry Michelen, a medical professional and community leader who grew up in the Dominican Republic and spent the majority of his professional career in New York City.

The street will get co-named Dr. Nasry Michelen Way.

Michelen's life of medicine brought him all around the world, before settling in the Big Apple.

Michelen was born in San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic, where he received his initial schooling before obtaining his medical degree at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. After medical school, he married Marie Armaly and set up a practice as a surgeon in Bethlehem, Palestine.

He then returned home to the Dominican Republic for a handful of years to work in San Juan's public hospital system. Michelen's ability earned him a scholarship from the Minister of Health to get his master's degree in public health at Columbia University in New York City.

After completing his master's program, he returned to the Dominican Republic and was appointed Superintendent of Hospitals during President Rafael Trujillo's regime.

According to a news release from Council Member Rodriguez, "Dr. Michelen was a fierce critic of the Trujillo regime and rose as a leader of the opposition to the new government formed after Trujillo's death."

The new government eventually forced Michelen to leave the country along with his family, and he returned to New York City.

He was appointed the Associate Director of Elmhurst Hospital in Queens and a few years later, the Executive Director of Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, which made him the first Latino and Dominican in New York to be executive director of a hospital.

Here is a list of some of the other contributions he made to the city of New York:

• Founded the Dominican Medical Society in New York
• Founding member and the first grand marshal of the Dominican Day Parade
• Successfully advocated for the building of a new Lincoln Hospital at 149th Street and Grand Concourse.
• Founding member and first president of Hostos Community College of CUNY

Michelen died in 2018, but a foundation carrying his name continues his legacy by providing scholarships to under-represented undergraduate students pursuing careers in medicine. The Dr. Nasry Michelen Day Care Center at West 415 West 150th Street also carries on his work.