A controversial plan to build affordable housing at the Elizabeth Street Garden in NoLIta is moving ahead.
The city's Housing Development Corporation announced that Haven Green will have 121 permanently affordable units available for seniors earning between $20,000 and $40,000 a year and some units for the formerly homeless.
Community members have been fighting the building plans since they were announced in 2015. They're concerned about the loss of public space.
"This fight is absolutely not over," said Joseph Reiver, Executive Director of the Elizabeth Street Garden. "We're going to continue exploring our legal action and we're gonna continue fighting to protect the Elizabeth Street Garden."
"Nobody wants to pit affordable housing against green space," said one neighbor. "But having zero green space in a community of seniors and children, it should be illegal."
The city says the space will incorporate a new garden that’s to be designed with community input.
The development is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to preserve or build 300,000 affordable housing apartments in the next decade.