Mayor Adams Aims To Make Elizabeth Street Garden An Official NYC Park: Report

NEW YORK CITY — In an effort to save the Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita, Mayor Eric Adams has designated it as city parkland before Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani takes over — who had previously said he would want to build senior affordable housing at the site.

In a report from Gothamist, the new development was disclosed in a Nov. 3 letter from Department of Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Louis Molina.

“By this notice, the City unequivocally and permanently dedicates this property to public use as parkland,” Molina wrote in the letter.

In June, Adams announced a new plan that would preserve the existing garden and relocates affordable housing nearby. He had been initially been supportive of a plan to building 123 apartments at the site before changing course.

In an agreement with Councilmember Christopher Marte, the city would abandon redevelopment plans for the garden and instead look to rezoning three sites in District 1 to create 620 affordable apartments.

156-166 Bowery, 22 Suffolk St. and 100 Gold St. have been chosen as the sites for the new affordable apartments.

Mamdani has said in multiple interviews that it would evict the garden when he took office. The parkland designation would complicate those efforts.

Any development on parkland would require approval by the state legislature under a process known as alienation.

The garden has faced a years-long eviction battle. Multiple celebrities including Robert De Niro and Patti Smith called for the garden to be saved, while housing advocates want more senior affordable apartments.

Mayor Adams and Mamdani have yet to comment on the garden's parkland designation.

Andrew Fine, Chief of Staff at Open New York, called Adam's move a "disgraceful final act."

"The Adams Administration is once again prioritizing elite comfort over affordable homes for vulnerable elderly people. Eric Adams’ time in City Hall may be over, but this fight is not," he said in a statement.

"In 2026, Open New York will be working with Mayor Mamdani, Governor Hochul, and the State Legislature to undo this pathetic lame-duck move."