The would-be developers of affordable housing at the Elizabeth Street Garden are suing the city, claiming that the mayor illegally dedicated the site as a city park.
Pennrose, Habitat NYC and Riseboro, who were tapped in 2017 to build 123 senior housing units on the city-owned site, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday alleging that Mayor Eric Adams illegally designated the site as a city park.
The complaint accuses Adams of unilaterally deciding the site’s future use without going through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, or Ulurp, which is required to map land as a city park.
“Nothing in State or local law, the City Charter, or otherwise empowers the mayor or mayoral agencies to dedicate City-owned land as parkland,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint names Adams, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, the city Department of Parks & Recreation and First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro as defendants.
The lawsuit cites reports of a Nov. 6 letter to Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa from DCAS Commissioner Louis Molia, announcing that the “city unequivocally and permanently dedicates this property to public use as parkland.”
The move came after the Adams administration reversed its position on the project, known as Haven Green, announcing that it would not evict the longstanding sculpture garden from the site. Instead, the administration cut a deal with local Council member Chris Marte, who agreed to support the rezoning of three other sites that would net 620 affordable units, more than 400 apartments than were planned for the garden site.
The reversal drew criticism from City Council leaders, housing advocates, developers and other elected officials. The decision came after years of litigation, in which the city eventually secured its ability to evict the nonprofit that leases the Nolita garden.
In the lawsuit, the development team points out that the administration abandoned a “shovel-ready” project for ones that are far from certain. It also questions the relationship between Mastro and attorney Norman Siegel, who had represented the nonprofit, and Adams’ former chief of staff, Frank Carone, who has supported opponents of Haven Green. The administration’s reversal came after Mastro was made first deputy mayor in March and announced he was “reviewing the project.”
Ahead of the November election, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani indicated that he would move forward with Haven Green and evict the garden. After the Adams administration declared the land a park, Mamdani told reporters that pursuing the project would be “nearly impossible.” Using city parkland for other uses would require action by the state legislature.
The lawsuit argues that allowing the mayor to declare the site parkland outside the legal process will have far-reaching implications.
“If allowed to stand, Respondents’ actions would establish dangerous precedents: that the Mayor, or any mayoral agency, could unilaterally overturn a completed ULURP by executive fiat; that a land-use decision duly vetted, debated, and approved by the City Council may be silently reversed without public process; and that the rule of law governing New York City’s land-use system can be disregarded and displaced by political convenience and preference,” the lawsuit states. “That is not what the City Charter mandates, and it is not how a lawful government functions.”
Representatives for the mayor did not immediately return requests seeking comment.
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