New School To Host Elizabeth St. Garden, Affordable Housing Panel

LITTLE ITALY, NY — The New School hosts a discussion on the issues surrounding access to public green space and affordable housing through the lens of the issues surrounding Elizabeth Street Garden.

The event is Monday, March 11, 7 to 9 p.m. at The New School in the Auditorium at the Alvin Johnson/JM Kaplan Hall, located at 66 West 12th St.

Mia White, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at The New School, will moderate the discussion, which includes panelists:

• Thomas Agnotti, Editor of 'Zoned Out: Race, Displacement, and City Planning in New York'
• Raymond Figueroa, President of the NYC Community Garden Coalition
• Charles Birnbaum, President & CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation
• Alicia Boyd, Founder of MTOPP, The Movement to Protect The People, and FLAC, Flower Lovers Against Corruption

Joseph Reiver, executive director of the Elizabeth Street Garden, will give opening remarks.

"A Livable New York: The Future of Community Green Space and Affordable Housing" is a free event. Seating is first-come, first-served.

The Elizabeth Street Garden is currently in the midst of an ongoing public review for a project dubbed Haven Green, which would replace the garden with 123 studios of affordable senior housing and approximately one-third of the open space the garden currently has. Some of the units are set aside for formerly homeless individuals.

A fiery debate among advocates for both the garden and affordable housing has resulted in two lawsuits against the city. The Elizabeth Street Garden is suing the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and a separate non-profit called Friends of Elizabeth Street Garden announced its own lawsuit Wednesday.

Borough President Gale Brewer supports the project, though she recently requested the project leaders, led by Habitat for Humanity, increase the open space under the current design by 30 percent, without increasing height or reducing affordable units. Councilmember Margaret Chin, who holds a pivotal vote in the City Council under the uniform land use review procedure, has also supported the Haven Green project.

For more information, click here. The public can submit questions ahead of time here.