Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
After a decade of legal battles and political fights, Elizabeth Street Garden will be preserved. The city had planned to build 123 affordable apartments for low-income seniors on the Lower East Side green space, but that proposal is now dead. We take a visit to the garden to speak with New Yorkers, then WNYC & Gothamist reporter David Brand joins us to explain how the garden became a flashpoint in New York’s debate over affordable housing and open space, and why the city is now looking to build more than 180 homes at a nearby site instead.
Photo: Iru Ekpunobi
Got any questions, comments or story ideas? Send us a message at NYCNow@WNYC.org.
• The long battle over Elizabeth Street Garden is over. Mamdani touts new housing plan. (gothamist.com/news/the-long-battle-over-elizabeth-street-garden-is-over-mamdani-touts-new-housing-plan)
• Family says stray voltage may have contributed to fatal Central Park carriage crash (gothamist.com/news/family-says-stray-voltage-may-have-contributed-to-fatal-central-park-carriage-crash)
• NYC homeless shelters are falling apart. Providers say the city’s fix-it process is broken. (gothamist.com/news/nyc-homeless-shelters-are-falling-apart-providers-say-the-citys-fix-it-process-is-broken)
• Congestion pricing hasn’t changed much about NYC’s air quality, city report finds (gothamist.com/news/congestion-pricing-hasnt-changed-much-about-nycs-air-quality-city-report-finds)
After a decade of legal battles and political fights, Elizabeth Street Garden will be preserved. The city had planned to build 123 affordable apartments for low-income seniors on the Lower East Side green space, but that proposal is now dead. We take a visit to the garden to speak with New Yorkers, then WNYC & Gothamist reporter David Brand joins us to explain how the garden became a flashpoint in New York’s debate over affordable housing and open space, and why the city is now looking to build more than 180 homes at a nearby site instead.
Photo: Iru Ekpunobi
Got any questions, comments or story ideas? Send us a message at NYCNow@WNYC.org.
• The long battle over Elizabeth Street Garden is over. Mamdani touts new housing plan. (gothamist.com/news/the-long-battle-over-elizabeth-street-garden-is-over-mamdani-touts-new-housing-plan)
• Family says stray voltage may have contributed to fatal Central Park carriage crash (gothamist.com/news/family-says-stray-voltage-may-have-contributed-to-fatal-central-park-carriage-crash)
• NYC homeless shelters are falling apart. Providers say the city’s fix-it process is broken. (gothamist.com/news/nyc-homeless-shelters-are-falling-apart-providers-say-the-citys-fix-it-process-is-broken)
• Congestion pricing hasn’t changed much about NYC’s air quality, city report finds (gothamist.com/news/congestion-pricing-hasnt-changed-much-about-nycs-air-quality-city-report-finds)
