Inspiration
In 2015, I took this photo of the callbox of my father's childhood apartment building in the Bronx. I was surprised to see my last name (spelled incorrectly) was still on it. It had been there, etched in plastic, since 1950, when my dad’s family emigrated from Germany. They had survived the Holocaust and were looking for a better life.
I stared at my last name and thought of my father as a child and what he must have felt coming here and the incredible journey he took to get to where he is now. As I turned to leave, a man came up the stairs and I asked him on the off chance if he lived in 2D. He did. I told him why I was there and he took me inside. We exchanged stories about our families, and current situation. He had moved from Puerto Rico to be with his family and pursue a career in the criminal justice field.
On the subway back to the city, I thought about all the other people that have lived in that one-bedroom apartment, what their lives and dreams might have been; giving up all they knew to create something better for themselves. And although they didn’t know how it would all work out, they had this apartment to rest and face another day.
At APT-2D we seek to create spaces that inspire this tenacity of the human spirit. We believe if you work hard and dream big, amazing things can happen.
Mike Walzman
Founder
A Los Angeles native, Mike Walzman began his career in property development at Archstone Smith. He then attended Columbia College Chicago to finish his BA in Creative Writing.
While in Chicago, Mike experienced living in a city without a car and quickly realized how liberated he was without it. His obsession with helping to make cities more walkable was born.
Returning to LA to realize his dream, Mike worked for Thomas Safran and Associates, an affordable housing developer, where he completed over $50 million worth of developments.