Elizabeth Street Garden, the one-acre community green space tucked away in a crowded area of Lower Manhattan, has been served an eviction notice by the City of New York after more than a decade of municipal attempts to have the site demolished in order to build an affordable-housing development, according to the nonprofit group that manages the site.
“While we have been expecting the notice to be served, we are very disappointed that Mayor Eric Adams and Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer have refused to hold off on the eviction despite ongoing negotiations and thousands of letters from the public demanding they save the garden,” the Elizabeth Street Garden non-profit said in a statement.
In June, the New York State Court of Appeals issued a six-to-one ruling that allowed the city to move forward with its plans to demolish the garden. An eviction notice means the group has 14 days to vacate the garden, though they said in a statement that they “continue to work with our legal team to address the eviction”.
Elizabeth Street Garden was founded in 1991 by the dealer Allan Reiver as an outdoor extension of Elizabeth Street Gallery, located next door. Reiver leased the site from the city on a month-by-month basis. Reiver and his son, Joseph Reiver—who now leads the Elizabeth Street Garden nonprofit—turned the previously abandoned lot into a garden, installing sculptures and other architectural elements in addition to the plants.
“[The garden] really became a work of art in its own right,” Joseph Reiver told The Art Newspaper in August.
But in 2013, Allan Reiver learned that the city planned to tear down the garden in order to use the site to build a new housing development of affordable units. The proposed development, Haven Green, will consist of 123 affordably priced studio apartments for seniors, along with retail space on the ground floor and offices for Habitat for Humanity, which has partnered with the city on the development plan. Critics of the project say the affordable rental rates have a lifespan of less than 60 years before rising to market rates again.
“It’s not like we’re saying ‘don’t build in the neighbourhood’. We’re just saying ‘don’t destroy a garden in order to do what you want to do’. It’s a false choice at the end of the day,” Reiver said in August.
In a statement on Wednesday (2 October), the Elizabeth Street Garden group said it had been working with the city councilmember Christopher Marte’s office to find more options for affordable housing at private sites in the district, in hopes of securing a proposal that “preserves the garden in its entirety and provides more affordable units at city-owned sites”.
Adams visited one of these sites just after stopping by Elizabeth Street Garden on 24 September, a representative for the garden group said in a statement.
“Mayor Adams and Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer are well aware that they can hold off on any eviction in order to work with us on both the public and private site proposals,” an Elizabeth Street Garden spokesperson said. “At this point, they have chosen not to seriously consider a true win-win-win solution where there is no loss to the community.”
A spokesperson for the mayor said that the Haven Green development will deliver "accessible, new green space and affordable housing, especially for our vulnerable, formerly homeless seniors". The spokesperson added: The only way to solve our housing crisis is to build more, and this forward-thinking project allows us to do just that, while creating a community space truly for all."
A spokesperson for the Haven Green development added: "Today is a step forward for both affordable housing and community green space. Today is an optimistic day. And today we’re reaffirming our commitment to solving the homelessness and affordable housing crises even when it’s politically challenging."
On 26 September, Adams was indicted on federal charges related to bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals. He has denied the allegations.