The sculpture garden in Manhattan founded by the gallery owner was evacuated after years of legal dispute

Elizabeth Street Garden, the one-acre community green space tucked away in a crowded neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, has been served with an eviction notice by the City of New York after more than a decade of municipal attempts to demolish the site for development According to the nonprofit group that manages the site, it is an affordable housing development.

“While we expected the notice to be delivered, we are very disappointed that Mayor Eric Adams and Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer have refused, despite ongoing negotiations and thousands of letters from the public calling for the garden to be saved have to delay the eviction,” the nonprofit Elizabeth Street Garden said in a statement.

In June, the New York State Court of Appeals issued a six-to-one ruling allowing the city to move forward with its plans to demolish the garden. An eviction notice means the group has 14 days to vacate the garden, although they said in a statement that they “continue to work with our legal team to address the eviction.”

Elizabeth Street Garden was founded in 1991 by dealer Allan Reiver as an outdoor extension of the Elizabeth Street Gallery next door. Reiver rented the site from the city on a monthly basis. Reiver and his son Joseph Reiver — who now runs the nonprofit Elizabeth Street Garden — transformed the previously abandoned property into a garden, installing sculptures and other architectural elements alongside the plants.

“(The garden) really became a work of art in its own right,” Joseph Reiver said The art newspaper in August.

But in 2013, Allan Reiver learned that the city planned to demolish the garden to build a new housing development with affordable housing units on the site. The proposed Haven Green project will consist of 123 affordable studio apartments for seniors, as well as ground-floor retail space and offices for Habitat for Humanity, which collaborated with the city on the development plan. Critics of the project say affordable rental rates will last less than 60 years before rising back to market levels.

“It's not like we're saying, 'Don't build in the neighborhood.' We're just saying, 'Don't destroy a garden to do what you want to do.'” “Ultimately, it's a wrong decision,” Reiver said in August.

In a statement Wednesday (Oct. 2), the Elizabeth Street Garden group said it has been working with City Councilman Christopher Marte's office to identify more options for affordable housing on private land in the district in hopes of finalizing a proposal received who “protects”. “The garden will be used in its entirety and more affordable units will be created on city-owned land.”

Adams visited one of those locations shortly after stopping by Elizabeth Street Garden on Sept. 24, the garden group said in a statement.

“Mayor Adams and Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer recognize that they can delay an eviction in order to work with us on both public and private property proposals,” Elizabeth Street Garden said. “At this point, they have chosen not to seriously consider a true win-win-win solution where there is no loss to the community.”

The city of New York did not respond to a request for comment. On September 26, Adams was indicted on federal charges involving bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals. He has denied the allegations.