Haven Green Update

The Haven Green development team today filed legal action in New York State Supreme Court challenging the outgoing administration’s last-minute effort to designate Elizabeth Street Garden as official New York City parkland. The filing seeks a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to halt implementation of the designation and preserve the incoming administration’s ability to make decisions about the property’s future. The Article 78 petition challenges the parkland designation as unlawful, circumventing proper democratic processes and binding the hands of the incoming mayoral administration. The attempted designation was taken without authority, without public notice, without going through the ULURP process, without an administrative record, and without a single legal justification in violation of the administrations own 5-month old deal to leave the door open to developing the site in the future should additional sites not be fully realized.

The Haven Green project is the product of an exhaustive public process and lawful governmental decision-making that has taken place for more than a decade.  It has undergone full environmental review. It has completed ULURP—the City’s rigorous and participatory land-use procedure—culminating in a 45–0 vote of approval by the City Council.  It has survived years of litigation, including challenges under state law, federal law, and multiple appeals.  Throughout that period, the City repeatedly and consistently defended Haven Green as a vital project delivering desperately needed affordable housing to extremely low-income and formerly homeless seniors, coupled with publicly accessible open space designed through community input.

The Haven Green development team continues to see the City as a partner in our mission to build deeply affordable housing for seniors alongside publicly accessible green space and remains open to partnering in the re-creation and continuation of the spirit and stewardship of the current site. This action leaves the door open for this long-term investment and commitment to the win-win-win compromise and collaboration Haven Green represents.