close
close

The judge temporarily suspended the eviction of Elizabeth Street Garden in New York. What the city says to do next.

The judge temporarily suspended the eviction of Elizabeth Street Garden in New York. What the city says to do next.

NEW YORK — An appeals court judge has given the city a break controversial eviction plans for the Elizabeth Street Gardensay supporters.

The temporary order is in effect until October 30th.

The city still plans to move forward his living plan for the property.

For now, people can still use the garden. The temporary residence bans The city's plan to padlock itand then clear the property. The future remains uncertain.

“They are being very aggressive about this,” said Joseph Reiver, director of Elizabeth Street Garden. “Over a million letters have now been sent to the mayor.”

The garden is supported by actor Robert De Niro, director Martin Scorsese and singer and poet Patti Smith. They all wrote letters asking the mayor to stop the housing project.

“We want more green spaces, not more concrete”

The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) wants to convert the 1-acre property into an affordable housing complex for low-income seniors called Haven Green.

“Well, we want more green space, not more concrete,” said park visitor Rosa Williams.

“This is a place that should be valued and that should be saved,” said Lower East Side resident Alex Choy.

“We already have enough buildings, and there are other places where we could house people and save a place like this,” said Constantine Muamba of Lower Manhattan.

However, Mayor Eric Adams and HPD officials vow to create new affordable housing on the garden property as quickly as possible.

“The Garden is a beautiful place, but being able to host New Yorkers is even more beautiful,” Adams said.

“We deliver both open space – open space that the community deserves – and affordable housing,” said HPD First Deputy Commissioner Ahmed Tigani.

New York City Council member Christopher Marte says he helped broker a deal that could move the project to other locations.

“We believe this is a win-win situation,” Marte said.

Meanwhile, the city and the garden's fans continue to argue.

“We are not surprised or deterred – we are working to immediately resolve this last-minute attempt to prevent the city from building the affordable housing and public green space this neighborhood deserves. This is nothing new – wealthy Elizabeth Street Garden dug.” We've been fighting for nearly a decade to stop the city from building affordable housing for low-income and formerly homeless seniors. “As the city faces a severe housing shortage and seniors are forced from their homes, we will continue to fight for what is right – providing housing and public green space on this urban site,” said a City Hall spokesperson.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *