A nonprofit overseeing Manhattan’s Elizabeth Street Garden is suing New York City, arguing that the coveted public space qualifies for legal protection art under the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) of 1990. The lawsuit, filed early this month by the garden’s director Joseph Reiver, is seeking to block the city’s plan to replace the garden with affordable housing, describing the Soho site as a “social sculpture.”
Reiver’s father, the late gallerist Allan Reiver, began transforming the then-abandoned lot thirty years ago into a community space, and eventual sculpture garden. Now, Joseph Reiver contends that the garden should be shielded from destruction under the 1990 law, which is mean to protect works of “recognized stature” from being intentionally destroyed during redevelopments.
The lawsuit follows contradicting legal precedents. In 2018, a judge awarded $6.75 million to street artists after developers whitewashed murals at Queens’ 5Pointz. Yet VARA’s reach has limits: Artist Mary Miss failed to prevent the Des Moines Art Center from demolishing her land art piece, though she ultimately secured a $900,000 settlement.
The fight over the Elizabeth Street Garden has drawn support from New York City figures including Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Patti Smith. The city argues its Haven Green project—which would provide 123 affordable units for seniors, with an aim of 30% of the space be reserved for formerly homeless individuals—seeks to alleviate the neighborhood’s affordable housing crisis.
With eviction proceedings on hold, an end to the dispute is out of sight. Reiver insists the garden’s destruction is unnecessary, arguing in court documents that the development project is about securing the land under new ownership rather than addressing community needs.
