Elizabeth Street Garden Advocates Bury the Hatchet, Ramp up Opposition to Redevelopment
Advocates for the endangered Elizabeth Street Garden are rallying the troops for another round of battle to ward off certain redevelopment of the Little Italy lot.
But first, a truce between the warring factions of the garden.
The two nonprofit groups committed to saving the namesake green space – Friends of Elizabeth Street Garden and Elizabeth Street Garden – buried the proverbial hatchet this week to focus on coordinating legal efforts to stop an affordable housing project on the open-air parcel.
“As the City moves forward with plans to develop on the only public green space in Little Italy and SoHo, the community will take whatever necessary steps, including litigation, to preserve Elizabeth Street Garden in its entirety, for generations to come,” the joint statement reads.
Photo: Curtis + Ginsberg Architects
Friends has retained the legal services of Michael Gruen, President of the City Club; ESG has retained Norman Siegel of Siegel Teitelbaum & Evans, LLP.
The proposed building, as previously reported, will rise seven stories and carry 121 permanently affordable apartments for seniors. And as if to placate aggrieved locals, the plan also calls for the inclusion of 7,600 square-feet of publicly-accessible garden space. Significantly less than what’s there now. Department of Housing Preservation and Development awarded the contract to Penrose Development.
Opposition has long maintained that a site on the west side (388 Hudson Street) is better suited to affordable housing:
The City has plans to destroy the Garden for an affordable housing development, ignoring our community’s need for public green open space, tremendous local support for saving the Garden and an alternative site on a vacant city-owned lot at 388 Hudson St. — where up to five times as much senior housing and a 10,000-square-foot-park can be built without destroying treasured public green open space. ESG and Friends recognize that these two critical city objectives should not be pitted against one another, especially when we can achieve both.
Community Board 2 will host the developer later this month (June 25) in an open forum at 32 Waverly Place.
Photo: Curtis + Ginsberg Architects
Recent Stories
SLA Suspends Rochelle’s on Chrystie Street for COVID Violations
Another Lower East Side bar was caught flouting state COVID-19 related regulations earlier this month. The state’s multi-agency task force busted Rochelle’s (aka Leave Rochelle out of It) after an inspection on October 9, Governor Cuomo’s office announced late Friday. Investigators observed seven patrons standing and mingling inside 19 Stanton Street without face masks. The […]
Tombstone Secured for Homeless Man Beaten to Death on the Bowery Last Year
Earlier this month marked one year since four homeless men were murdered while asleep on the Bowery. Since the anniversary, a fundraising campaign to secure a tombstone for one of the victims was successful. Chuen Kwok had fallen on hard times after the passing of his partner. He eventually found refuge living on the streets […]
The Shadow of Rezoning Looming over SoHo and NoHo
The battle lines are drawn. As Mayor de Blasio embarks on a last-minute gambit to rezone the historic districts of SoHo and NoHo before his term ends, a coalition of community groups and activists are preparing for a battle to prevent the city from pitching the proposal in the name of affordable housing under the […]
Drunk Driver Struck Man on Moped at Bowery and Delancey
A man is in critical condition after an SUV, operated by a driver police believe was intoxicated, struck his moped at Bowery and Delancey Street early Wednesday morning. Police said the Toyota RAV4 turned onto Delancey from the Bowery at around 2:00am, where it struck the 38-year-old on the moped. Paramedics rushed the victim to […]
The Chic COVID Test in Little Italy that Costs $300
In a clash between the Pre-Covid New York CIty and the new, abnormal, meet Rapid Test NYC. This new endeavor brings boutique COVID-19 testing to Little Italy, with its no-wait rapid swab testing at 232 Elizabeth Street. No lines and a posh waiting room await the discerning citizen looking for immediate results. The interior has […]
