The Elizabeth Street Garden is a one-acre community sculpture garden and green space planted between Little Italy and SoHo in Manhattan. For years, the organization that runs the garden has been trying to save it.

On Tuesday, an appellate court ruled the city can move forward with its plan to use the space to build affordable housing for seniors.

"This is a huge win for the city and its seniors who urgently need access to more affordable housing. The entire community will also benefit from the permanent open space that this initiative will create," a spokesperson for the city’s Law Department said.

For years, the nonprofit that manages the city-owned land has tried to argue the space is a necessity.

Joseph Reiver is the executive director of the Elizabeth Street Garden. He says his father started the garden in 1991.

"Open space is good for mental health. It's good for the environment. We need it more and more, especially after [COVID-19]. It's set up as an example as to why we need public green spaces and why we need to protect them. But we're also protecting something iconic here. And I think that this garden represents the spirit of New York in that sense," Reiver said.

Reiver agrees that the city needs more affordable housing, and that is why the organization has mapped out other free areas the city could use. He says they plan to file an appeal.

"I wonder who is the city of New York? Is it the people who live here who work here who enjoy the space? Or is it an agency and appointed officials? Is it the people we elect? Or is it the people that the mayor appoints? And it's our chance to show them who the city of New York is," Reiver said.