The Elizabeth Street Garden declared victory on Monday after New York City suspended its years-long effort to bring affordable housing to the Manhattan neighborhood.
“Dear neighbors… The Garden is saved!” a message on Instagram said.
For months, the garden’s organizers waged a public campaign in an attempt to fend off an official eviction order and convince the City to explore other avenues for building new housing. The fight eventually landed both sides in court, all the while community members and big-name celebrities continued building support and bringing attention to the neighborhood’s need to keep the garden.
On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams announced a new plan to bring more than 600 new affordable homes to the district — the original plans for the garden plot called for the creation of 123 new homes.
“This is what smart, responsible leadership looks like: bringing people together to reach common sense solutions that create more housing and protect green space,” Adams said in a statement.
As part of the new garden agreement, City Councilmember Christopher Marte will oversee the rezoning of several other sites to facilitate the building of the 620 homes. Marte calls the deal a “win-win” for the community.
“Since the beginning of this fight almost a decade ago, we’ve been saying that we can save community gardens and build new affordable housing. And with this historic deal with Mayor Eric Adams, I am incredibly excited
to share that our years of organizing have paid off,” Marte said in a statement Monday.
“This will be the largest influx of new, permanently affordable housing in Lower Manhattan in decades. Our rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods have been desperate for homes that working people can actually afford – and now we will have hundreds of new neighbors, and old neighbors with new homes, right here.”
Adams also said the garden is extending its hours and “become more accessible to all New Yorkers.”
The Elizabeth Street Garden will now be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day.
NYC wants to turn a beloved sanctuary on the edge of Manhattan’s Little Italy into affordable housing for older New Yorkers. But supporters of the Elizabeth Street Garden say that plan’s not going anywhere, at least not yet. The little oasis boasts some big name support from the likes of Robert de Niro, Martin Scorsese and Patti Smith — but the city could serve an eviction notice at any moment. Melissa Colorado reports.