Fight over NYCs Elizabeth Street Garden officially ends after more than a decade

The 13-year battle over Elizabeth Street Garden is officially over now that a judge has signed off on a deal ending the final lawsuit over the contested city-owned land.In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court this week, Judge Lyle E.Frank inked his signature on court docs officially dismissing the case after City Hall and miffed developers announced a settlement to end their legal battle.Developers sued the city after then-Mayor Eric Adams designated the beloved Nolita greenspace as parkland just weeks before he left office at the end of last year.The developers blasted the city’s move effectively killing the over a decade-old plan to build an 123-unit affordable housing development for seniors on the site as “lawless.”While Mayor Zohran Mamdani pledged to bulldoze the site on the campaign trail, he admitted last week that the parkland designation made it nearly impossible to proceed with the development.The settlement between the city and developers Pennrose, Habitat for Humanity and Riseboro, offered another city-owned lot, 22 Suffolk Street, where officials said 180 affordable homes would be built. That marks the final word on a series of long legal dramas over plans first pitched by former city lawmaker Margaret Chin in 2013 to raze the 20,000-square-foot sculpture garden for housing — with the state’s highest court ruling in favor of the proposal in 2024.While critics bemoaned the loss of housing, ESG fans celebrated the end of hostilities on Saturday with a garden party.“It’s never been this beautiful,” Renee Green, the 94-year-old chair of the garden’s nonprofit who lives across the street, told amNY.

“Over the years, it’s just flourished.”...