Imagining New York City and the world without Michael Imperiale’s booming voice, friendly smile and firm opinions is to imagine a place that is blander, colder and less direct. Imperiale passed away last month at the age of 74. He lived on the Lower East Side and was the 34-year partner of the late Frieda Zames.
Disability rights activist Anne Emerman said, “Michael was a quintessential downtown guy, riding a scooter, wearing a big Western hat and a poncho. Bus drivers said he was the mayor of the Lower East Side.”
Imperiale was the lead singer for the Disabled in Action Singers and liked to play chess and sing in Washington Square Park. “Michael was a big, warm-hearted person. Children and animals loved him,” Emerman said.
Nadina LaSpina and her partner Danny Robert said Imperiale was the first person they called for a civil rights or peace protest because he could convey a message with great volume and he was always ready to start a chant, which he enjoyed more than meetings. They knew him for 20 years.
“He was irrepressible, once he got something in his head he didn’t care what anybody said,” Robert said. “Of course he had a really beautiful singing voice and he would break out in song at any time he wanted to.”