New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to abandon plans to build affordable housing on the site of the Elizabeth Street Garden in Lower Manhattan, according to sources familiar with the matter. The decision marks a significant development in a long-standing dispute between advocates for housing development and supporters of preserving the community garden.

The Elizabeth Street Garden, spanning about one acre in the NoLIta neighborhood, has for over a decade become a symbol of tensions surrounding urban development, green space preservation, and affordable housing efforts in affluent parts of the city. The proposed project would have included 123 affordable apartments targeted primarily at seniors, with roughly 50 units designated for homeless residents.

The plan initially had strong backing from Eric Adams during his term as mayor, but faced intense opposition from local residents and high-profile figures such as Patti Smith, Martin Scorsese, and Robert De Niro, who praised the garden’s unique environment featuring stone sculptures and mature trees. Under pressure, Adams reversed his stance last summer, deciding to relocate the housing project elsewhere.

Shortly after Zohran Mamdani took office, Adams’s former deputy mayor Randy Mastro had the garden site officially designated as parkland—a legal status that bars development unless the State Legislature intervenes. This move was challenged in court by the developers—Pennrose, Habitat for Humanity, and RiseBoro—who filed a lawsuit alleging the designation was an unlawful attempt to block the housing project.

Mamdani’s administration has engaged in negotiations with the developers for several months and is reportedly nearing a settlement that would end efforts to develop the site, according to individuals familiar with the talks. As part of the settlement, the city would forgo the housing plan at Elizabeth Street Garden.

The mayor’s office confirmed ongoing discussions aimed at resolving the lawsuit and highlighted progress on an alternative affordable housing project nearby at 22 Suffolk Street, a site previously proposed by the Adams administration. That development is expected to include approximately 180 affordable apartments.

The impending settlement elicited mixed responses. Housing advocates criticized the decision, with Annemarie Gray, executive director of Open New York, lamenting the delay in providing housing to seniors in need. Gray emphasized the human cost of the project's delay, noting that some prospective residents have died while waiting.

Conversely, Joseph Reiver, executive director of the Elizabeth Street Garden nonprofit, welcomed the likely outcome, describing it as a resolution that benefits the community. Christopher Marte, the city councilman representing the district and a vocal opponent of the development on the garden site, thanked Mamdani’s administration for working toward an agreement to preserve the space. Marte also expressed support for other affordable housing efforts within his district, including the Suffolk Street project.

Randy Mastro, who has been critical of Mayor Mamdani, also praised the possible settlement if it maintains the garden’s parkland designation, calling it "the right thing to do."

The resolution of the Elizabeth Street Garden dispute underscores the ongoing challenges New York City faces in balancing affordable housing development with community preservation and environmental concerns.