Manhattan · New York County
Elizabeth Street Garden
NYC Parks
- Location
- Elizabeth Street between Spring and Prince Streets, Nolita
- Size
- 0.2 acres
- Hours
- Daily, seasonal hours
- Type
- NYC Parks
Elizabeth Street Garden is a beloved community garden in Nolita filled with antique architectural sculptures, urns, and statuary arranged among lush plantings on a lot that has been the subject of one of New York City's most emotional development battles.
The garden was created by Allan Reiver, an antiques dealer who arranged his collection of European garden statuary and architectural salvage on the lot, creating an outdoor sculpture garden that feels like a secret corner of Rome transplanted to downtown Manhattan.
The city has planned to develop the site as affordable senior housing, pitting two worthy causes against each other: the need for affordable housing in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the world versus the preservation of one of the most cherished community spaces in lower Manhattan.
The garden has become a rallying point for the community, with thousands of supporters fighting to preserve a space that provides beauty, calm, and connection to nature on a block where every other lot has been developed.
Elizabeth Street Garden represents the tension at the heart of New York City's land use: in a city that desperately needs both affordable housing and green space, this one small lot has become a symbol of the impossible choices that define urban life.