The (Possible) End of an Era

The Last Holiday Season at the Elizabeth Street Garden?

By Lynn Pacifico

The Elizabeth Street Garden (ESG) held a pet costume party on October 27. There was a constant coming and going of people paying their respects to the garden. At the time, we believed that this would be our last visit before eviction.

Some of the dog guardians came a distance to the party as gardens no longer allow dogs and the closest dog run is a small lifeless cement box. At ESG they can sit on a lawn with their pet and enjoy the nature and grace of this spot. This is the only natural public area downtown that I know of that allows us this simple pleasure.

Sara attended with her pooch Strudel, who was dressed as a hotdog and looking for treats. She said, “It is a place where I find peace. We don’t have a lot of outdoor space and I come at least once a week. You can’t take your dog to many parks but this one is accessible.”

Accessibility is important as nature is healing. The scent of fresh microorganisms found in soil and composting organic matter stimulate serotonin release. The effects of this natural antidepressant last up to three weeks. Access to the ESG allows us to be strengthened by nature’s vital life force and to energetically experience the earth’s cycles as we were designed to do.

Sonia Price, who won the ESG costume contest four years ago, came with her two dogs and a friend, Henry Rosales, who brought his dog. All were dressed as characters from the movie Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Sonia said “ESG is the downtown Central Park.” Imagine if Central Park was taken away!

Sam, who attended with his pup Mercer, wearing a fox hat and who is, no doubt, full of tricks, said, “I am really sad that we are losing ESG. I came to say goodbye.”

I remember the ESG before it was open to the public. Fascinated by the ethereal statuary of the gods in the midst of the beautiful plantings, it seemed to be magical and it enchanted me when I peered at its beauty through the fence.

This was once part of Little Italy and my father’s Italian family’s stomping ground for three generations. Eventually aunts and uncles moved to the boroughs but we met up in the old neighborhood for meals, especially during the holidays. I remember the delicious food, family stories and laughter, listening to Perry Como, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra holiday songs and Italian opera wafting from the tenements above.

Back then, there were few TVs and no sight-blocking air conditioners. Stoops and streets were extensions of home life, windows were their social media. The grandmothers and other elders sat by their windows watching and yelling to family, friends and kids playing in the street below. The watchers knew everything that was going on with everybody.

When going back to the old neighborhood, I experience a flood of memories. On my way to the garden, I passed an Italian dessert cafe on Prince Street. I remember going there as a small child and eyeing the pastry choices in the long showcases. When I became the last family member in the Village, it was my responsibility to bring the Italian pastry from downtown to holiday gatherings.

The current footprint of the ESG, was once occupied by a public school until it was demolished in the 1970s. I remember the space as one of many vacant lots covered in weeds, old bricks and garbage. In 1980 the Little Italy Restoration Apartments were built, which had a recreation area. This is the space that the city eventually leased to Allan Reiver, owner of the Elizabeth Street Gallery.

In 1991 Reiver began developing the garden, adding elements from his collection, even buying a copper gazebo, with wreaths of iron flowers, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted for Burrwood, the former estate of Standard Oil’s Walter Jennings on Long Island’s Gold Coast. Reiver opened the garden to the public in 2005 and it quickly became a cherished space.

My son, Rafael Greco, who earned a BFA from Bard College for sculpting, took care of this one acre garden 30 years ago when he worked for Reiver. Reiver imported fine art stone decorative elements from demo jobs in France and housed them in the garden.

My favorite statue is Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain, holding sheaths of wheat in her arm. I pay respects to her whenever I visit but on October 27, heartbroken, I sat in front of her for a long while as I thought it might be my last time to be able to do so.

Thanks to the heroic work by Allan Reiver’s son, Joseph, and dedicated efforts from FESG, caretakers, local businesses, Council Member Marte, CB2, celebrities and the thousands of people who sent letters to the mayor in support of the garden, the Appellate Term has granted the garden another stay pending the determination of the garden’s last appeal. It is scheduled for the February 2025 term. Saving the garden would be a wonderful legacy for any politician. Why isn’t Mayor Adams listening?

We are all holding our breath, hoping that the ESG survives as this garden helps make life in park-starved downtown livable. Meanwhile, we have at least one more holiday season to enjoy it. To learn more about the garden and to send a letter to the mayor visit elizabethstreetgarden.com.

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Lynn Pacifico, a fourth generation Villager, dog and parks activist, writes about New York City and its dogs.