New York oasis lies in path of city’s push to build housing

Published September 8, 2024
A PERSON reads at Elizabeth Street Garden, a park that the New York authorities wish to sell to a developer to construct housing for seniors.—Reuters
A PERSON reads at Elizabeth Street Garden, a park that the New York authorities wish to sell to a developer to construct housing for seniors.—Reuters

NEW YORK: A beloved public garden in lower Manhattan may soon become a casualty of New York’s push to develop more housing despite opposition led by celebrities such as Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese.

Elizabeth Street Garden, built by an antiques gallery owner on land leased from the city in 1991, is an urban oasis in the densely crowded Little Italy neighborhood, the backdrop for “Mean Streets,” Scorsese’s classic New York movie starring De Niro.

In 2013, the city proposed a 123-unit affordable housing project for seniors on the one-acre plot. Opponents have proposed alternative sites nearby that could create 700 units, but housing officials remain unconvinced. Legal options are running out to stop the garden’s eviction after the lease expires on Sept 10.

Adams has made building more housing a priority for his administration. In August, he ordered agencies to review all city-owned property for potential development, part of a goal he set in 2022 to build 500,000 new homes by 2032. Since 2016, the city has required 20-30pc of new housing developments to be affordable, meaning residents earning an average of 40-80pc of the area median income can buy the units.

Thousands of people, including Scorsese, De Niro and another downtown luminary, poet and musician Patti Smith, have written letters asking Mayor Eric Adams to preserve the garden.

“I support increasing the availability of affordable housing,” wrote De Niro, “but I’m also passionate about preserving the character of our neighborhoods.”

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

At breaking point
Updated 20 Jan, 2025

At breaking point

The country’s jails serve as monuments to bureaucratic paralysis rather than justice.
Lower growth
20 Jan, 2025

Lower growth

THE IMF has slightly marked down its previous growth forecast for Pakistan’s economy from 3.2pc to 3pc for the...
Nutrition challenge
20 Jan, 2025

Nutrition challenge

WHEN a country’s children go hungry, its future withers. In Pakistan, where over 40pc of children under five are...
Kurram conundrum
Updated 19 Jan, 2025

Kurram conundrum

If terrorists and sectarian groups — regardless of their confessional affiliations — had been neutralised earlier, we would not be at this juncture today.
EV policy
19 Jan, 2025

EV policy

IT is pleasantly surprising that the authorities are moving with such purpose to potentially revolutionise...
Varsity woes
19 Jan, 2025

Varsity woes

GIVEN that most bureaucrats in our country are not really known for contributions to pedagogical excellence, it ...