The Elizabeth Street Garden Has Been Saved – Now, Let’s Get it Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
In a statement this morning “New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced a signed agreement with New York City Councilmember Christopher Marte to more than quintuple the amount of new affordable housing to be created in New York City Council District 1 over what was originally planned for the Elizabeth Street Garden site — building over 620 new affordable homes — while preserving the iconic Elizabeth Street Garden and making it a publicly-available garden for all New Yorkers to enjoy.” The statement also notes “the city will permanently pause plans for redevelopment of the garden while Councilmember Marte will support rezoning three sites in his district to create new affordable housing.”
In a statement Charles A. Birnbaum, The Cultural Landscape Foundation’s (TCLF) President & CEO said: “Let’s enshrine the saving of the Elizabeth Street Garden, a treasured cultural resource, by having the site listed in the National Register of Historic Places, which TCLF has advocated for many years, along with the protection afforded through city and state designations that recognize its significance.”
TCLF was the first national organization to advocate for not only saving the site beginning in November 2018, but having it listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The garden was created on a dilapidated one-acre city-owned site leased to the late Allan Reiver in 1991 who designed a distinct verdant work of outsider art noted for its architectural remnants and eclectic mix of statuary. In 2012 the New York City Council eyed the site for new development; a mixed use project dubbed Haven Green, which would have 123 apartments, was announced at the end of 2017. Reiver’s son Joseph, who worked with his father on the creation of the garden, has continued to operate this rare public open space that serves as a community hearth, which hosts poetry readings, musical and dance performances, movie nights, local school groups, and others. In April 2019, TCLF published an article that includes 6:02-minute video with the garden’s designer, Allan Reiver, and his son Joseph, about the site's history and creation.
