Elizabeth Street Garden in Little Italy gets another chance with new court appeal

LITTLE ITALY, Manhattan (PIX11) – Advocates for the Elizabeth Street Garden have delayed a planned eviction by the city.

Advocates say an appeals court has temporarily paused the eviction until Oct. 30.

The advocates had appealed a previous order to hand the land back over to the city. The garden was set to close on Thursday but will now be allowed to stay open until the appeal trial ends.

Organizers behind the Elizabeth Street Garden have been in a 12-year-long battle against the city. Officials have been working to turn the site into an affordable housing complex for seniors.

“I understand the compassion that’s attached to the garden. But what’s attached to me the most is getting New Yorkers housed,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a news conference on Tuesday.

“We are not surprised or deterred — we’re working to immediately resolve this last minute attempt to prevent the city from building the affordable housing and public green space this neighborhood deserves,” a City Hall spokesperson told PIX11 News.

The garden has recently received support from notable names like Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, and Patti Smith. The celebrities, among many others, wrote to Mayor Eric Adams , urging him to keep the garden open.

Despite the petitions, the city is continuing with its housing plan. Developers have promised that a green space will still be made available to the public after the complex is built.

Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here .

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