Developers for the canceled housing project on Elizabeth Street Garden face a Dec. 31 deadline for withdrawing their lawsuit against the city if they want to keep the contract for another housing project promised by the city.
First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro sent a letter dated Dec. 26, first reported by amNY, reiterating the city’s offer to Pennrose Properties, Habitat for Humanity, and RiseBoro Community Partnership for the contract to build housing on three sites instead of on the Elizabeth Street Garden.
The letter states that the developers would need to drop their lawsuit to proceed with one of those projects at 22 Suffolk St.
In late November, Crain’s reported that the developers had paused the lawsuit to negotiate the terms of the alternate projects. If the lawsuit is not permanently dropped, the city would revoke its selection of the contractors and seek “another partner to develop affordable housing on the Suffolk Street Site,” Mastro’s letter states.
The deadline comes on the final day of the Adams administration, which has drastically shifted its own position on the garden in the past year. In March, the administration had issued an eviction notice to the nonprofit that operates the garden. But three months later, Adams announced he was dropping out of the fight to build housing on the site.
Instead, the city would rezone three other properties for affordable housing, including the Suffolk Street project as well as sites at 100 Gold St. and 156-166 Bowery.
The decision came after community members, City Councilmember Christopher Marte and local celebrities like Robert De Niro and Patti Smith protested the garden’s closure. Adams has since gone so far as to designate the garden as city parkland in November after recently elected Zohran Mamdani vowed to evict the garden and move forward with the housing project.
Adams’ sudden reversal, however, has frustrated the developers. Their lawsuit accuses him of abusing his executive power in scuttling the deal.
A representative for the developers did not respond to questions about whether they would be meeting the city’s Dec. 31 deadline. Mastro also did not respond to requests for comment.
It’s unclear whether the developers have any reason to negotiate with the outgoing administration.
In response to Adams’ designation of the garden as a city park in November, Mamdani said, “It is no surprise that Mayor Adams is using his final weeks and months to cement a legacy of dysfunction and inconsistency.”
The Mamdani transition team did not respond to requests for comment.
Marte, who opposed the construction project on Elizabeth Street Garden, also did not respond to requests to comment.
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