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Adams to designate Elizabeth Street Garden as official NYC park to block housing project

Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft.

November 13, 2025

Adams to designate Elizabeth Street Garden as official NYC park to block housing project

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To prevent Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani from turning Nolita's Elizabeth Street Garden into senior housing as first intended over a decade ago, Mayor Eric Adams is designating the one-acre green space as official city parkland. As first reported by Gothamist, Adams is transferring ownership of the lot to the Parks Department, which would require any development on the site to be approved by the state legislature. The move comes less than two months before Mamdani, who said he would build affordable housing at the site, takes office.
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Elizabeth Street Garden will remain open in deal reached with city

Photos by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft. Photos are not to be reproduced without written permission from 6sqft

June 23, 2025

Elizabeth Street Garden will remain open in deal reached with city

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One of the city's most contentious development battles has come to an end. Plans to turn the Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita into affordable housing for seniors have been halted in a deal announced by Mayor Eric Adams on Monday. According to the mayor, Council Member Christopher Marte will now support the rezoning of three sites in his district to allow for 623 new affordable homes in exchange for preserving the one-acre community garden, ending a decade-long fight over the site.
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Elizabeth Street Garden served eviction notice by city

Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft

October 3, 2024

Elizabeth Street Garden served eviction notice by city

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Despite last-ditch efforts from New York City icons like Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, Little Italy's Elizabeth Street Garden received an eviction notice from the city this week. The nonprofit that oversees the garden said they have two weeks to vacate as the city moves forward with plans to build affordable senior housing and retail space on the unique green space. Elizabeth Street Garden said it plans to "continue to work with our legal team to address the eviction."
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Celebrities join last-minute effort to save Elizabeth Street Garden

Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft

August 23, 2024

Celebrities join last-minute effort to save Elizabeth Street Garden

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With its eviction looming, Little Italy's Elizabeth Street Garden is throwing one last hail mary. New York celebrities Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, and Patti Smith penned letters to Mayor Eric Adams this week, asking him not to build an affordable senior housing development on the city-owned site of the community garden, a plan approved in 2019 but delayed by legal challenges. The A-listers join thousands of residents who oppose replacing the unique green space with apartments, despite the city's current housing crisis. Demolition of the garden could begin next month after the nonprofit that runs the space lost two separate court battles.
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Elizabeth Street Garden can become affordable senior housing development, court rules

Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft

June 28, 2023

Elizabeth Street Garden can become affordable senior housing development, court rules

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An affordable housing development can be built on the site of Little Italy's Elizabeth Street Garden, an appellate judge ruled on Tuesday, ending a decade-long battle between housing advocates and garden supporters. The project, dubbed Haven Green, will bring 123 rentals for extremely low-, very low-, and low-income seniors, along with 37 apartments for formerly homeless seniors, to one of the city's most affluent neighborhoods.
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Judge halts Elizabeth Street Garden-replacing senior housing development

Rendering courtesy of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects

November 2, 2022

Judge halts Elizabeth Street Garden-replacing senior housing development

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Long-stalled plans to build an affordable senior housing development at the Elizabeth Street Garden in Little Italy hit another roadblock this week. State Supreme Court Judge Debra James on Tuesday vacated and annulled the environmental impact statement for Haven Green, a 123-unit mixed-use rental for older New Yorkers approved by the City Council in 2019. While developers determined the building would not have a negative impact on the neighborhood's environment, the judge disagreed, ruling that "reduction in open space ratios is sufficient to indicate the presence of a significant adverse impact."
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Plan approved to replace Elizabeth Street Garden with affordable senior housing development

Rendering courtesy of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects

June 27, 2019

Plan approved to replace Elizabeth Street Garden with affordable senior housing development

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The New York City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a plan to replace a community garden in Little Italy with an affordable housing complex for seniors. The project, first introduced by Council Member Margaret Chin in 2012, will rise on the site of Elizabeth Street Garden, a quirky green space created in 1991 by Allan Reiver, who owns the gallery next to the garden. The complex, dubbed Haven Green, will include 123 affordable apartments and ground-floor retail. Originally, developers agreed to keep 8,000 square feet of public space at the site, but on Wednesday Chin said she reached an agreement to incorporate more open space at Haven Green through a courtyard next door.
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Behind the scenes at Little Italy’s Elizabeth Street Garden and Gallery

The gallery is housed in a 19th-century firehouse, and later bakery, on Elizabeth Street. It has its own door to the garden next door

June 26, 2019

Behind the scenes at Little Italy’s Elizabeth Street Garden and Gallery

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Shortly upon arriving in New York in the 1990s, Allan Reiver traveled to Coney Island with one goal in mind: find a shooting gallery. Reiver, who has always had a knack for finding art out of other people’s junk, bought one that same day from an older man who told him it had been boarded up since the 1930s when it became illegal to shoot live ammunition. Nearly 30 years later, the 10-foot high boardwalk game, still operational, sits in the back of the Elizabeth Street Gallery in Little Italy, where Reiver has housed unique artifacts and fine objects for nearly a decade. Rare finds can also be found next to the gallery, scattered across a lush green space known as the Elizabeth Street Garden. Since 1991, Reiver has leased the land from the city, slowly transforming the lot with unique sculptures, columns, and benches, all plucked from estate sales. In 2012, the city revealed plans to replace the garden with a senior affordable housing complex, known as Haven Green, igniting a battle between garden advocates and affordable housing supporters. The City Council votes on the project Wednesday. Ahead of the decision, 6sqft toured Reiver’s gallery and the garden next door and spoke to him about building the green space and the plan to fight the Haven Green project in court.
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Senior housing complex at Elizabeth Street Garden site gets borough president approval

Rendering courtesy of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects

February 27, 2019

Senior housing complex at Elizabeth Street Garden site gets borough president approval

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Update 3/6/19: The Elizabeth Street Garden (ESG) and the garden's creator Allan Reiver filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the city and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to challenge the development of Haven Green.  The plan to build an affordable senior housing development at the site of the Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita got a much-needed push forward on Tuesday after receiving approval from Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. In December 2017, the city revealed plans for Haven Green, a passive house with units reserved for seniors earning between roughly $20,000 and $40,000 to be built on the site of the park. Elizabeth Street Garden advocates are fighting the city's plan to demolish the one acre of green space to make way for affordable housing and are taking legal action to save the park.
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To save Nolita’s Elizabeth Street Garden, a nonprofit wants to take ownership from the city

Sketch of Elizabeth Street Garden’s Site A courtesy of Ella Barnes/ESG

January 9, 2018

To save Nolita’s Elizabeth Street Garden, a nonprofit wants to take ownership from the city

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A nonprofit with a mission to protect and preserve the Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita released on Tuesday a plan to designate the park as a Community Land Trust (CLT), meaning it would no longer require funding from the city. The group, aptly named Elizabeth Street Garden (ESG), unveiled renderings of what the park could look like as a CLT, including a new composting station, solar panels, a volunteer work shed and more. The proposal from ESG comes after the city announced last month plans to demolish the garden to make way for an affordable senior housing development.
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City will replace Nolita’s Elizabeth Street Garden with 121 affordable apartments for seniors

Rendering courtesy of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects

December 8, 2017

City will replace Nolita’s Elizabeth Street Garden with 121 affordable apartments for seniors

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After years of public battles between open space advocates and public officials, the city announced on Friday that it will create an affordable senior housing development at the site of the Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita. Dubbed Haven Green, the project will be an energy-efficient passive house, with units reserved for seniors earning between $20,040 and $40,080, as well as formerly homeless seniors. According to the Daily News, the project calls for 121 deeply affordable units with 7,600 square feet of public open space in a new garden. Developed by Pennrose Properties, Habitat for Humanity New York City, and RiseBoro Community Partnerships, Haven Green will use 60 to 70 percent less energy than a standard building of its kind and will be designed to manage and reuse stormwater through permeable surfaces.
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This $11M Elizabeth Roberts-designed Cobble Hill home might be the prettiest townhouse in Brooklyn

Photography by Virginia Carey and Dustin Aksland / Courtesy of Elizabeth Roberts Architecture & Design

March 30, 2023

This $11M Elizabeth Roberts-designed Cobble Hill home might be the prettiest townhouse in Brooklyn

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Completely transformed from a four-family home by AD100 architectural designer Elizabeth Roberts, this 19th-century Cobble Hill Italianate townhouse at 469 Henry Street is a breathtaking showcase of considered renovation design. The 22-foot-wide, 56-foot-deep home, asking $11,000,000, was given a new three-story extension, adding up to 5,000 square feet of living space on four floors. Among its many highlights are a living wall of ivy, a double-height glass wall that opens onto a 2,000-square-foot landscaped garden, and a step-down sunken family room.
Tour this stunning Brooklyn townhouse
New York pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

Photo of the Freedom Tower; courtesy of Don Pollard/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

September 9, 2022

New York pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

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To honor the life of Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday at the age of 96, landmarks across New York were illuminated purple. Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered all flags on state buildings to be flown at half-staff on Friday; Mayor Eric Adams also directed all flags on city buildings and stationary flagstaffs to be lowered.
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From neglected mud patch to outdoor oasis, a Brooklyn backyard gets a garden makeover

Photos © 6sqft

August 25, 2022

From neglected mud patch to outdoor oasis, a Brooklyn backyard gets a garden makeover

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After a top-to-toe renovation of their 1870s Clinton Hill two-family townhouse that spanned two years (read all about it here), 6sqft writer Michelle Cohen and her husband, Stanley Peck, decided to relegate sprucing up their brownstone backyard to “phase 2.” They’d already added a rear terrace with steps to the yard and created a small roof deck above their lower extension. The couple certainly planned to address the neglected outdoor space–even though the existing weed-jungle-meets-mud-patch had a certain overgrown charm. Below, hear from Michelle about the results, along with professional advice for creating a verdant outdoor space in the city.
How to create an urban garden retreat
Forest Whitaker buys Upper East Side apartment with Greek-inspired garden for $1.6M

Listing images by Alan Barry; courtesy of Compass

October 8, 2020

Forest Whitaker buys Upper East Side apartment with Greek-inspired garden for $1.6M

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Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker has purchased a duplex apartment on the Upper East Side for $1.595 million, according to city property records. Located at 42 East 73rd Street, the three-bed, three-bath home boasts a Greek-inspired garden, with stately columns, a brick patio, and mature plantings. Whitaker, who is also a Sustainable Development Goals Advocate for the United Nations, snagged the property for about 8 percent less than the last listed asking price of $1.74 million. It was first listed last October for $1.895 million.
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Upper East Side duplex with an enchanting, Greek-inspired garden seeks $1.9M

Listing images by Alan Barry; courtesy of Compass

October 23, 2019

Upper East Side duplex with an enchanting, Greek-inspired garden seeks $1.9M

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Around the corner from Madison Avenue at 42 East 73rd Street, this stylish Upper East Side duplex features a romantic, Greek-inspired garden complete with ionic columns and a variety of plantings. Inside, bronze columns frame an elegant living area on the first level, while the second floor provides a flexible guest suite or home office. The two-bedroom is seeking $1.895 million.
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Brooklyn Botanic Garden ramps up fight against proposed Crown Heights towers with new exhibit

Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

July 31, 2019

Brooklyn Botanic Garden ramps up fight against proposed Crown Heights towers with new exhibit

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The Brooklyn Botanic Garden's fight against two high-rise towers in Crown Heights continues this week with the opening of a new educational exhibit. The display is part of the garden's larger "Fight for Sunlight" campaign opposing a proposal from developers to amend the area's current zoning and build two 39-story towers across the street. The garden argues the proposed towers on Franklin Avenue would obstruct necessary light from shining on the garden's 23 greenhouses, nurseries, and growing spaces, putting rare plants at risk.
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Two new gardens in Queens will provide a space for immigrant communities to grow

Image of the New Roots Community Farm in the Bronx by Kathleen McTigue, courtesy of International Rescue Committee (IRC)

July 2, 2019

Two new gardens in Queens will provide a space for immigrant communities to grow

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Building on the success of the New Roots Community Farm in the Bronx, two additional New Roots Gardens are currently underway in Queens, the Sunnyside Post reports. The gardens are being planted on both sides of 69th Street near Woodside Avenue and will include vegetable beds, flowers, a greenhouse, and seating areas. As part of a Department of Transportation initiative with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and NYC Parks GreenThumb, the gardens aim to create a community space for immigrants and refugees, as well as access to fresh and affordable produce.
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Secrets of the St. Mark’s Historic District: From Peter Stuyvesant’s grave to the only real east-west street

The area in the 1840s, via Wiki Commons

January 10, 2019

Secrets of the St. Mark’s Historic District: From Peter Stuyvesant’s grave to the only real east-west street

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One of New York City’s most charming and distinctive corners celebrates its 50th anniversary as a landmark district this coming week. The St. Mark’s Historic District, designated January 14, 1969, contains fewer than 40 buildings on parts of just three blocks. But this extraordinary East Village enclave contains several notable superlatives, including Manhattan’s oldest house still in use as a residence, New York’s oldest site of continuous religious worship, Manhattan’s only true east-west street, the remains of the last Dutch Governor of New Netherland, and the only “triangle” of houses attributed to celebrated 19th century architect James Renwick.
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$4M Park Slope brownstone with interiors by Elizabeth Roberts embodies considered design
June 20, 2018

$4M Park Slope brownstone with interiors by Elizabeth Roberts embodies considered design

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6sqft covered the stunning traditional-yet-modern design found in this Park Slope Italianate beauty at 359 Bergen Street nearly three years ago; a gut renovation by townhouse titan Elizabeth Roberts Architecture & Design brought custom architectural detailing with the designer's signature cool, clean backdrop and sophisticated, functional accents–and now it's for sale, asking $4 million. The 13-room house is set up as a two-family home, with a two-bedroom income-producing garden apartment and three floors above for the owners.
Brownstone envy, this way
For $1.25M, Juliet balconies and an enchanted garden create romance on the Upper West Side
October 29, 2017

For $1.25M, Juliet balconies and an enchanted garden create romance on the Upper West Side

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This bright and cozy garden duplex co-op at 24 West 69th Street on the Upper West Side has pre-war details like high beamed ceilings, built-in bookshelves, crown moldings, French doors and two Juliet balconies; but it's the 731-square-foot private enchanted garden just outside those French doors that makes this one-bedroom-convertible-to-two such a charmer.
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Elizabeth Arden’s former Sutton Place townhouse hits the market for $16M
August 8, 2017

Elizabeth Arden’s former Sutton Place townhouse hits the market for $16M

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A single-family townhouse in affluent Sutton Place has hit the market for $16 million. The home, located at 4 Sutton Square, was built in 1921 for Henry Sprague, the inventor of the Sprague gas meter. Beauty entrepreneur Florence M. Lewis, better known professionally as Elizabeth Arden, and Michael Jeffries, president of Abercrombie & Fitch, have also called the exclusive, five-story pad home. Last year, the 4,000-square-foot, four bedroom home was on the market for $19.95 million.
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Former writing studio of NY Review of Books founder Elizabeth Hardwick asks $1.4M
May 26, 2017

Former writing studio of NY Review of Books founder Elizabeth Hardwick asks $1.4M

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This quaint Upper West Side one bedroom comes from the Central Park Studios, an apartment cooperative built in 1905 by artists and writers for the purpose of creating living and studio space for their creative endeavors. Unsurprisingly, this apartment has its own creative history: it served as the writing studio to Elizabeth Hardwick, acclaimed author and co-founder of the New York Review of Books. She lived here with her husband, the poet Robert Lowell, until her death in 2007. The present owner, according to the listing, then wrote his first published book here. So who will be the next writer to continue the apartment's creative energy, for the asking amount of $1.42 million?
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Rent This Charming Cobble Hill Cottage With Private Garden and Backyard Studio for $7,250/Month
August 8, 2016

Rent This Charming Cobble Hill Cottage With Private Garden and Backyard Studio for $7,250/Month

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Constructed in the 1870s on a short, private block of Cobble Hill, the 34 modest Gothic cottages of Warren Place Mews were built by wealthy merchant, philanthropist and housing advocate Alfred Tredway White as homes for workingmen and their families. 21st century prices for these unique "private estates" that share an English courtyard have reached the millions; renting doesn’t come cheaply either, with the asking rent on the three-story, eleven-foot wide two-bedroom home at 1 Warren Place at $7,250/month. That may seem a bit more reasonable when you see the home’s gorgeous renovation helmed by Elizabeth Roberts Architecture & Design and landscaped yard with your own private “writers’ compound or tiny playroom” at the back.
Take a peek at this small, beautiful living space
This Cobble Hill Garden Apartment Comes Smelling of Freshly-Baked Cookies
February 25, 2016

This Cobble Hill Garden Apartment Comes Smelling of Freshly-Baked Cookies

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The listing for this two-bedroom-plus-office co-op at 275 Degraw Street suggests the garden apartment will "satisfy even the most discerning 'must have' list," and it certainly does seem to be that kind of place. Located on a charming Cobble Hill block in a 1900s brick row house, this spacious, renovated and well-appointed home ticks a lot of boxes for its $1.075 million ask: Two good-sized bedrooms and a bonus room, renovated kitchen, private back yard, central air-conditioning, washer/dryer, low monthlies. But how many New Yorkers can brag that they come home daily to the scent of freshly-baked cookies?
Take a tour and find out what smells so good
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