Elizabeth Street Garden Saved as Haven Green Relocates to Suffolk Street

• Address: 22 Suffolk Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York
• Plans for the original 123-unit affordable senior housing project at Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita have been scrapped under a new legal settlement.
• The development team will acquire a 15,500-square-foot city-owned lot at Suffolk and Grand Streets and build more than 180 affordable homes.
• At least 120 apartments will be reserved for low-income seniors, while the Elizabeth Street Garden will remain preserved as parkland.

What The Settlement Changes For Haven Green

Haven Green is moving away from its controversial location at Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita and onto a vacant city-owned property on the Lower East Side. Under a settlement between the city and the development team, Pennrose, RiseBoro Community Partnership, and Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester will acquire the 15,500-square-foot site at 22 Suffolk Street. The new proposal calls for more than 180 affordable homes, replacing the earlier plan for a 123-unit senior housing development at the garden. The settlement also ends a lawsuit filed by the development team against the city in November 2025.

 

 

What The New Lower East Side Development Will Include

The new development will rise on a vacant parcel at the northeast corner of Suffolk and Grand Streets within the former Seward Park Urban Renewal Area. According to City Hall, 120 apartments will be reserved for low-income seniors, with the remaining homes designated for other low-income households. The land use review process is expected to begin in the middle of next year. The property had previously been reserved as a potential school site until 2023, but the School Construction Authority never funded the proposed school.

 

 

What Happens To Elizabeth Street Garden

The relocation represents a major change for Elizabeth Street Garden, a roughly 20,000-square-foot community garden between Prince and Spring Streets. Rather than being redeveloped, the garden will remain preserved as parkland under the settlement. The decision brings an end to the long-running fight over whether the property should be used for affordable housing or remain open space. The original Haven Green proposal had faced years of legal challenges before ultimately receiving a major ruling from New York's Court of Appeals in June 2024.

 

 

What The Original Haven Green Plan Included

The original project was designed by Curtis + Ginsberg Architects with Paul A. Castrucci Architect. Approved by the City Council in June 2019, the proposal called for a seven-story Passive House building with all units affordable to seniors earning up to 60% of area median income. The estimated $88 million development would have included 123 apartments, including 37 homes for formerly homeless seniors. Plans also called for approximately 8,400 square feet of public open space, ground-floor retail, and a new Habitat for Humanity headquarters. The revised Suffolk Street project will be substantially larger in terms of housing production, with more than 180 affordable homes planned.

 

 

What Other Sites Are Part Of The Settlement

The settlement also keeps other pieces of the broader 2025 agreement moving forward. At 100 Gold Street, GFP Real Estate is planning approximately 3,700 mixed-income apartments, with at least 25% permanently affordable. The project would also include a 40,000-square-foot public open space and a new older adult center, with land use review anticipated in 2027. A third site at 156-166 Bowery, consisting of a seven-lot assemblage, is planned for at least 123 affordable senior apartments in partnership with Kinsmen Property Group. Its current status has not yet been announced.

What The Shift Means For Affordable Housing

Moving Haven Green to Suffolk Street allows the development team to continue pursuing affordable housing while leaving Elizabeth Street Garden intact. The new proposal also increases the number of planned affordable homes from the original 123 units to more than 180. With 120 apartments specifically designated for low-income seniors, the project could become a significant addition to the Lower East Side's affordable housing inventory once the land use process begins.