BY SUSAN SILVER | On the eve of its possible execution, the legendary Elizabeth Street Garden was dotted with afternoon visitors soaking up its perennial serenity.
The positive energy derives least in part from Joseph Reiver, director of the nonprofit that manages the garden and the prime mover behind rescue efforts for the beloved green space.
“We’re working on the next legal steps before the September 10 deadline,” Reiver said of the court-ordered eviction notice that green-lights the city to replace the sculpture garden with affordable senior housing.
As Reiver spoke, garden-lovers from the surrounding Nolita neighborhood, the outer boroughs and even abroad lunched, exercised and generally relaxed within the space, a surprise explosion of beauty in an urban setting, tucked behind a tall, hydrangea-covered fence.
“I don’t predict — I just focus on doing everything to save it,” Reiver added.
Nearby, Ely Mather, a frequent visitor to the idyllic spot, was having lunch with a friend, whom she had just introduced to the garden for the first time.
“I’m truly saddened,” Mather said of the impending eviction. “It’s such an awesome space in the middle of this city. It would be a big loss for the whole Nolita-Soho area.”
Marina Acosta, from the Canary Islands, was also making her first foray to the Elizabeth Street Garden.
“I can’t imagine in such a big city a beautiful, small niche like this to relax in,” she marveled.
In the early 1990s, Joseph’s late father, Allan Reiver, whom some regard as a visionary, created the space on what had been a trash-filled, city-owned lot. But in 2012, local residents discovered the garden had been quietly slated for development by the city as part of the far-off Seward Park Urban Renewal Area plan — without any notice given to Community Board 2 — setting off years of opposition and lawsuits.
Reiver’s group has proposed turning the well-funded garden into permanent parkland and operating it as a community land trust, which would not cost the city a single dime. C.B. 2, for its part, located an alternative site for affordable housing, on a vacant lot at 388 Hudson St. at Clarkson Street — but even though the city now plans to develop the West Side site, it still plans to destroy the garden. Meanwhile, almost all of the area’s local politicians support saving the garden. In short, City Hall has stubbornly refused to alter the development scheme, originally crafted in secret by former Councilmember Margaret Chin and the Bloomberg administration.
Recent last-ditch letter-writing campaigns to Mayor Adams by seniors and kids to save the treasured open space also have been met with silence.
“It’s been an eleven-and-a-half-year effort,” Reiver said of the fight to save the garden. “The whole community has been mobilized. Thousands of letters have been sent to the mayor. We’ve sent him a proposal that includes affordable housing without destroying the garden.”
One can only hope against hope that the Elizabeth Street Garden and its magic manage to thrive for another 200 years.
An excruciating read about the destruction of yet another gem. In the name of f##k.
It will be Habitat for Humanity’s offices! I called them and they know nothing of it??? Look at the drugs and trash in Sara Roosevelt park — that is what they are proposing for this area. The Parks Dept’s only criterion for a job is a warm pulse. The pool park on Spring St is overrun with rats. And now they will take away Carmine St Pool for housing and you know it will not be public housing, it will be luxury housing in a celebrity-rich neighborhood. Elizabeth St Garden has children’s programs, elderly programs, they show films, they have music and art and poetry and comedy — not even Central Park has all that…. The gripes people have is that Joe is making money on it, which is a lie. The business his father ran is over — only the sculptures are left for the community; some were pieces in World’s Fairs and expositions. If Joe’s father didn’t save them, they would have gone in the landfill. There are people that hammer nails and there are people that gripe about it. Take you choice…
You should all be ashamed of yourselves for opposing affordable and low-income housing. There are no alternative sites for housing in this area and finding some empty lot miles away won’t help to provide affordable housing in Little Italy, which is densely populated because people want to live there. There are plenty of open spaces and parks all around the area although none are exactly like this garden. Also, this garden will be shrunken and not destroyed with access to the LIRA housing backyard next door and maybe some rooftop patio if opponents worked with the city instead of suing it. I’m pretty sure that everyone writing these comments has comfortable housing, or at least some housing, that they live in. Not everyone is so lucky. Build housing on Elizabeth Street already.
No, Mr Pruchnicki! Elizabeth Street has plenty housing & plenty congestion — and what it needs is MORE green space. People (especially tourists who spend money in the area) love this beautiful site as a retreat from everything surrounding it. Children love it, the elderly love it. It is a true community garden in the best spirit. And, of course, everyone knows that it doesn’t turn profit$ for developers looking to feast on the site.
Pruchnicki fails to state he lives in the West Village, with its abundant number of parks and huge amount of green space: JJ Walker Park, Abingdon Square, Jackson Square, Spring Street Park, Christopher Park, the AIDS Memorial Park, 14th Street Park, Little Island, Pier 40, Pier 46, Pier 51, Christopher Street Pier and the miles-long beautiful Hudson River Park with all its amenities = tennis, kayaking, fishing, concerts, movies, etc.
Nice for him.
However, on the other side of town, the East Side of town, there are NO green spots for its tens of thousands of people save the Elizabeth Street Garden.
Not one spot between Sixth Avenue and the Bowery. None, zero, zilch. Just the concrete jungle
Bad for the rest of us.
This guy’s hypocrisy and complete lack of empathy knows no bounds. Shame on him.
Shameful! Abhorrent! How dare the City endanger this lovely spot! You know, it’s probably spent a lot of money trying to put off this protest movement. It would SAVE money by just building where it’s been encouraged to build. Amen!
Joseph Reiver, please organize (just publicize and we will come) a protest at City Hall.
this unfortunate situation was started as a vindictive backroom deal by District One’s former councilmember, Margaret Chin. she created a deal with the essex crossing development in cb3 by giving up this property in cb2 — without informing the local community board — in which the garden is located. seems she was upset about the Open NY / soho backlash she rightly received. — quite the corrupt beginning. the Open NY real estate developers were involved from day one!
Habitat for Humanity (which I have supported for years) and HDC make for a nasty combination.
there are folks in brooklyn who have lost their rent-stabilized apartments because of these unfortunate deals.
It is an absolute disgrace that this little, rare paradise that everyone loves will be razed for some “affordable housing” complex! We should be voicing more outrage. There are plenty of empty lots and spaces throughout the city and the Downtown area to build another building. An absolute disgrace!
This is a crime pure and simple. The last thing we need in this city is to lose green space. The only argument that will influence City Hall is financial. Donors and others with clout: TRY A TRUMP Delaying TACTIC! Think lawsuit.
I’m perplexed why the City is so committed to putting senior housing in the densest neighborhood in the five boroughs. There are very few amenities in the area that are even of value to seniors: no hospital, no parking for visiting relatives, few shops that would likely appeal to those on a fixed income, crowded streets, few places where even a van can pull in to drop off and pick up! If only our officials could imagine our City as a whole “body” and recognize that the garden (and the surrounding area, which faces similar threats of over-development) contributes in an important but different way to the health of the “body”: by bringing in the money to pay for the affordable housing that we definitely need! Nolita contributes by being a unique and sought-after destination for tourists who spend A LOT of money when they come to visit. This neighborhood and its special features: Elizabeth Street Garden, the many pricey boutiques and restaurants, The Feast of San Genaro, the lively street life, the CHARM! adds significantly to the City’s tax base and provides jobs for many of our residents. Why would we want to damage that contribution in the name of gaining a small number of homes, when we could build those and more homes in areas of the City that have available open space in need of development and appropriate services nearby?
In the meantime, the City does nothing for people (including elderly) who are losing their housing due to landlords – landlords who keep buildings in disrepair, force out tenants etc.
For example, the City has done zero for tenants at 642 East 14th Street forced out last year because construction of a new luxury building next door damaged their building.
And the owner of 642 East 14th now wants to tear down the building.
The tenants are homeless and will never get their homes back.
Who is the developer slated to make a profit by building here? What’s their address? Make life difficult for them!
haven green ….and habitat for humanity – which unfortunately has a less than stellar track record in nyc