As NYC evicts Elizabeth Street Garden for affordable housing, group vows to keep fighting
NEW YORK -- New York City is evicting the Elizabeth Street Garden in Little Italy, but a group is vowing to fight the order that gave two weeks to clear out.
After years of discussions, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development served the eviction order Thursday night, in order to build more than 100 affordable housing units for seniors, including nearly a third for formerly homeless seniors.
"It's so quiet. We're in the middle of the city, but it's so quiet. That's rare. This is a gem. I can't even believe that this is up to discussion," said Dee Rosareo.
A City Hall spokesperson said, "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."
Advocates proposed alternate sites
The city owns the site, but advocates argue there are ways to build more housing without getting rid of the garden.
City Council Member Christopher Marte's office and garden volunteers proposed alternate sites for the Haven Green development, but the locations have not yet been made public.
"We sent them over to the administration and we just need their green light to really save the space," said Marte.
Hundreds of thousands of advocates -- including singer/songwriter Patti Smith, actor Robert De Niro and filmmaker Martin Scorsese -- have written letters to City Hall to stop the plan.
"This location, Little Italy, this part of Community Board 2, has one of the least amount of green spaces in the whole city," said Marte.
"The city's cold in the way that it addresses this," said Joseph Reiver, executive director of the Elizabeth Street Garden. "Everyone's working around the clock to make sure that that eviction doesn't happen."
"We're all gonna band together and glue ourselves to the fence"
Supporters of the affordable housing development plan say the garden became a public space 11 year ago, but only once the city identified it as a possible location for affordable housing.
Those who visit the garden daily want to keep the "mini ecosystem" alive.
"I'm sure we're all gonna band together and glue ourselves to the fence, but we'll see what happens. " said Brandon O'Leary. "I'm going to remain optimistic in the meantime."
The developers still promise the new complex will have over 14,000 square feet of green space. The site currently has over 20,000 square feet.