A new proposal may offer hope for advocates of the Elizabeth Street Garden in Manhattan’s Little Italy, a historic sculpture garden ordered to vacate its plot by October 17 by city officials for the development of an affordable LGBTQ+ senior living center.
The one-acre art garden managed by a namesake nonprofit was served a two-week eviction notice last Wednesday, October 2, following a 14-year battle between the city housing agencies and green space preservationists. Contention began in 2012 when the New York City Housing Authority assumed land ownership with plans to develop affordable housing.
After years of rallies opposing the proposed structure, Elizabeth Street Garden filed a lawsuit against New York City Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) in 2019, which initially thwarted eviction. But that decision was voided in July by HPD on the grounds that “the project would not have a significant adverse impact on the environment.” Elizabeth Street Garden, however, claims that it is Little Italy and Soho’s only “public green space.”
City Council Member Christopher Marte said he now has a “triple win solution on the table” with the mayoral administration, which he announced in an email newsletter sent to constituents on October 4. Marte’s office, according to the email, has proposed transferring the subsidized housing funds intended for the Elizabeth Street site to other plots, which are currently slated for “100% luxury” apartment development.
“What’s become clear when we organize to defend Elizabeth Street Garden is that the City isn’t actually interested in building affordable housing,” Marte wrote. “It’s letting some long-standing political grudge get in the way of protecting one of the area’s few green spaces and stop the development of even more affordable housing on sites that are currently under-used.”
Marte’s office and City Hall have not yet responded to Hyperallergic’s request for comment.
Elizabeth Street Garden Executive Director Joseph Reiver told Hyperallergic that he has been working alongside Marte to identify potential sites where affordable housing could be built without sacrificing the park. The proposal, he said, puts an end to what he called a “false choice the city has pitted against housing versus green space.”
“So much of the media coverage … feeds this false choice,” Reiver said. “As if we’re against housing. I’ve been working day in and day out to get affordable housing in this neighborhood, just not at the expense of this [garden].”
Reiver is the son of Allan Reiver, former owner of the Elizabeth Street Gallery which once encompassed the garden. It was senior Reiver who stewarded the green space. Now, the locale is home to several Neoclassical sculptures placed by father and son. The garden is also home to a gazebo designed by the Olmsted Brothers and a stone and granite balustrade taken from one of the largest Gilded Age mansions in Philadelphia.
“The garden itself is a work of art,” Reiver remarked. “A lot of the plantings and nature have been planted specifically to complement the sculptures and work with them in unison.”
As advocates make last-minute attempts to stave off eviction, the city’s senior housing crisis is reaching concerning heights.
According to a July report by the nonprofit LiveOnNY, the number of seniors on the waitlist for citywide affordable housing has grown to over 300,000 people, a 50% increase since 2016. The proposed senior living facility, named Haven Green, would break ground next summer and open in 2027. According to the project’s website, it would primarily house low-income and extremely low-income, formerly unhoused, and LGBTQ+ seniors.
Part of the proposed complex includes a publicly accessible 16,000-square-foot open space.
“Community members from all walks of life would have an opportunity to enjoy public green space … Together, we can set an example for the rest of the City as a leader in inclusive, affordable urban planning that benefits the entire community,” City Council Member Margaret Chin said in a statement.
But supporters of the park see it as a rare place where people come to form a neighborhood community.
“Open space is so important, and it’s a shame that housing and open space have been pitted against each other,” Jeannine Kiely, president of the advocacy organization Friends of Elizabeth Street Garden, told Hyperallergic.
“We’re trying to protect this open space specifically because it’s a work of art,” Reiver said. “We’re trying to protect something that would never, ever be built again in the city of New York.”
