{ "article": { "title" : "The Legacy of Elizabeth Street Garden & the Fight for Green Spaces", "author" : "Yassa Almokhamad-Sarkisian", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/elizabeth-st-garden", "date" : "2024-11-01 12:08:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/elizabeth-1.jpg", "excerpt" : "If you have lived in or visited New York, and have experienced the Elizabeth Street Garden, you know that you have been truly blessed. Folks like Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese have submitted letters to the City of New York advocating to protect this landmark. Nestled between Prince and Spring Streets, it is more than just a patch of green space; it’s a cherished sanctuary that has woven itself into the heart of New York City’s Nolita neighborhood. For many, it serves as a core memory—an oasis of tranquility amidst the bustling streets, frequented by locals and travelers alike. As I write this, Elizabeth Street Garden is at risk. At the heart of the legal dispute, is a potential development project for affordable housing. The problem is that there are other much more viable options. In fact, many members of the NYC community- far and wide- have been fighting to save this space. But within the last few weeks, it seems like the development project that will take the garden away from us has been greenlit. The truth is that we are still hopeful.", "content" : "If you have lived in or visited New York, and have experienced the Elizabeth Street Garden, you know that you have been truly blessed. Folks like Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese have submitted letters to the City of New York advocating to protect this landmark. Nestled between Prince and Spring Streets, it is more than just a patch of green space; it’s a cherished sanctuary that has woven itself into the heart of New York City’s Nolita neighborhood. For many, it serves as a core memory—an oasis of tranquility amidst the bustling streets, frequented by locals and travelers alike. As I write this, Elizabeth Street Garden is at risk. At the heart of the legal dispute, is a potential development project for affordable housing. The problem is that there are other much more viable options. In fact, many members of the NYC community- far and wide- have been fighting to save this space. But within the last few weeks, it seems like the development project that will take the garden away from us has been greenlit. The truth is that we are still hopeful.Once a derelict lot left vacant after the demolition of P.S. 21 in the 1970s, the garden’s transformation began in 1991 when Allan Reiver took the initiative to breathe life back into the forgotten area. As the owner of the neighboring Elizabeth Street Gallery, Reiver saw potential in the barren land. Leasing it on a month-to-month basis, he meticulously cleaned it up, and filled it with sculptures and architectural artifacts from his extensive collection. Today, the garden is a fairytale-like safe haven with an eclectic mix of plants and sculptures, creating a tranquil retreat for all who visit. In September of 2022, Patti Smith famously played a free concert to raise awareness about the garden, drawing over 600 attendees who came together to celebrate its importance.The garden has become a sanctuary for many in a city that lacks green spaces, which is undeniably valuable for everyone’s mental health. It has hosted countless stories of connection and joy: couples have proposed and gotten married among its flowers, while families have raised their children within its tranquil embrace. Renee Green, the garden’s Chair, often recounts how it has become a vital meeting point for seniors in the community. This is crucial in a city like New York which doesn’t have many natural third spaces, and isn’t necessarily always accessible for some folks. Elizabeth Street Garden has created a place where folks get to know their neighbors and a culture where that extends outside of the garden. When asked to share some stories or experiences from visitors that illustrate the impact of the garden on the community, Rieves mentioned there are many elderly who come to the garden on a daily basis. He tells a story of an elderly Chinese woman who speaks little English, who has formed a unique bond with the space. She helps weave vines through the gates and along sculptures. It is people like her that exemplify the importance of this garden.The garden is maintained by devoted volunteers and the nonprofit Elizabeth Street Garden Inc. (ESG), and it has become a vital communal space. Since 2013, ESG has worked diligently to keep the garden open year-round, hosting community events that nurture both body and soul. In a city where green space is a precious commodity, they invite people to partake in yoga sessions, eco-gardening workshops, and cultural collaborations with organizations like MoMA and the Lower East Side Ecology Center. The garden has also served as an outdoor classroom for local elementary school students, where they learned about sustainable practices during the pandemic. Through ongoing workshops with local public schools, children are not only given the opportunity to connect with nature but also to get their hands in the dirt and contribute to a shared space. They learn about planting and sustainable stewardship, while also expressing their creativity through poetry and garden design. An example of environmental stewardship and sustainability, the garden teaches visitors about the significance of community- led green spaces in urban environments—not merely as pockets of nature amidst concrete but as vital havens for mental health. Knowing there are spaces for communities to gather, interculturally and intergenerationally while building neighboring relationships, is essential in the West with big cities like New York. We have been stripped of our community and the interconnected support in places we call home. The garden fills a void many New Yorkers seek.Elizabeth Street Garden is a vibrant community space and artistic haven. It blends nature with architectural elements and sculptures, which are recognized both locally and globally. Its preservation underscores the importance of prioritizing public green spaces in urban development. It is also free to the public, which embodies the community spirit and the nurturing power of nature. Spaces like these help us all foster connections and create cherished memories. Ultimately, the garden’s magic can be described in a quote by Joseph Reiver, the garden’s director who reflects on his experience: “I’ve learned a lot about how to shape a place while accepting how it grows organically, balancing vision with the need to listen to the garden.”Get Involved! Go to elizabethstreetgarden.com/volunteer to find out how to support this rare and historical “third space” in New York city." } , "relatedposts": [ { "title" : "100+ Years of Genocidal Intent in Palestine", "author" : "Collis Browne", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/100-years-of-genocidal-intent", "date" : "2025-10-07 18:01:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/1920-jerusalem.jpg", "excerpt" : "Every single Israeli prime minister, president, and major Zionist leader has voiced clear intent to erase the Palestinian people from their lands, either by forced expulsion, or military violence. From Herzl and Chaim Weizmann to Ben-Gurion to Netanyahu, the record is not ambiguous:", "content" : "Every single Israeli prime minister, president, and major Zionist leader has voiced clear intent to erase the Palestinian people from their lands, either by forced expulsion, or military violence. From Herzl and Chaim Weizmann to Ben-Gurion to Netanyahu, the record is not ambiguous:{% for person in site.data.genocidalquotes %}{{ person.name }}{% if person.title %}<p class=\"title-xs\">{{ person.title }}</p>{% endif %}{% for quote in person.quotes %}“{{ quote.text }}”{% if quote.source %}— {{ quote.source }}{% endif %}{% endfor %}{% endfor %}" } , { "title" : "Dignity Before Stadiums:: Morocco’s Digital Uprising", "author" : "Cheb Gado", "category" : "", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/dignity-before-stadiums", "date" : "2025-10-02 09:08:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/EIP_Cover_Morocco_GenZ.jpg", "excerpt" : "No one expected a generation raised on smartphones and TikTok clips to ignite a spark of protest shaking Morocco’s streets. But Gen Z, the children of the internet and speed, have stepped forward to write a new chapter in the history of uprisings, in their own style.The wave of anger began with everyday struggles that cut deep into young people’s lives: soaring prices, lack of social justice, and the silencing of their voices in politics. They didn’t need traditional leaders or party manifestos; the movement was born out of a single hashtag that spread like wildfire, transforming individual frustration into collective momentum.", "content" : "No one expected a generation raised on smartphones and TikTok clips to ignite a spark of protest shaking Morocco’s streets. But Gen Z, the children of the internet and speed, have stepped forward to write a new chapter in the history of uprisings, in their own style.The wave of anger began with everyday struggles that cut deep into young people’s lives: soaring prices, lack of social justice, and the silencing of their voices in politics. They didn’t need traditional leaders or party manifestos; the movement was born out of a single hashtag that spread like wildfire, transforming individual frustration into collective momentum.One of the sharpest contradictions fueling the protests was the billions poured into World Cup-related preparations, while ordinary citizens remained marginalized when it came to healthcare and education.This awareness quickly turned into chants and slogans echoing through the streets: “Dignity begins with schools and hospitals, not with putting on a show for the world.”What set this movement apart was not only its presence on the streets, but also the way it reinvented protest itself:Live filming: Phone cameras revealed events moment by moment, exposing abuses instantly.Memes and satire: A powerful weapon to dismantle authority’s aura, turning complex political discourse into viral, shareable content.Decentralized networks: No leader, no party, just small, fast-moving groups connected online, able to appear and disappear with agility.This generation doesn’t believe in grand speeches or delayed promises. They demand change here and now. Moving seamlessly between the physical and digital realms, they turn the street into a stage of revolt, and Instagram Live into an alternative media outlet.What’s happening in Morocco strongly recalls the Arab Spring of 2011, when young people flooded the streets with the same passion and spontaneity, armed only with belief in their power to spark change. But Gen Z added their own twist, digital tools, meme culture, and the pace of a hyper-connected world.Morocco’s Gen Z uprising is not just another protest, but a living experiment in how a digital generation can redefine politics itself. The spark may fade, but the mark it leaves on young people’s collective consciousness cannot be erased.Photo credits: Mosa’ab Elshamy, Zacaria Garcia, Abdel Majid Bizouat, Marouane Beslem" } , { "title" : "A Shutdown Exposes How Fragile U.S. Governance Really Is", "author" : "EIP Editors", "category" : "", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/a-shutdown-exposes-how-fragile-us-governance-really-is", "date" : "2025-10-01 22:13:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/EIP_Cover_Gov_ShutDown.jpg", "excerpt" : "Each time the federal government shutters its doors, we hear the same reassurances: essential services will continue, Social Security checks will still arrive, planes won’t fall from the sky. This isn’t the first Governmental shutdown, they’ve happened 22 times since 1976, and their toll is real.", "content" : "Each time the federal government shutters its doors, we hear the same reassurances: essential services will continue, Social Security checks will still arrive, planes won’t fall from the sky. This isn’t the first Governmental shutdown, they’ve happened 22 times since 1976, and their toll is real.Shutdowns don’t mean the government stops functioning. They mean millions of federal workers are asked to keep the system running without pay. Air traffic controllers, border patrol agents, food inspectors — people whose jobs underpin both public safety and economic life — are told their labor matters, but their livelihoods don’t. People have to pay the price of bad bureaucracy in the world’s most powerful country, if governance is stalled, workers must pay with their salaries and their groceries.In 1995 and 1996, clashes between President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich triggered two shutdowns totaling 27 days. In 2013, a 16-day standoff over the Affordable Care Act furloughed 850,000 workers. And in 2018–2019, the longest shutdown in U.S. history stretched 35 days, as President Trump refused to reopen the government without funding for a border wall. That impasse left 800,000 federal employees without paychecks and cost the U.S. economy an estimated $11 billion — $3 billion of it permanently lost.More troubling is what happens when crises strike during shutdowns. The United States is living in an age of accelerating climate disasters: historic floods in Vermont, wildfire smoke choking New York, hurricanes pounding Florida. These emergencies do not pause while Congress fights over budgets. Yet a shutdown means furloughed NOAA meteorologists, suspended EPA enforcement, and delayed FEMA programs. In the most climate-vulnerable decade of our lifetimes, we are choosing paralysis over preparedness.This vulnerability didn’t emerge overnight. For decades, the American state has been hollowed out under the logic of austerity and privatization, while military spending has remained sacrosanct. That imbalance is why budgets collapse under the weight of endless resources for war abroad, too few for resilience at home.Shutdowns send a dangerous message. They normalize instability. They tell workers they are disposable. They make clear that in our system, climate resilience and public health aren’t pillars of our democracy but rather insignificant in the face of power and greed. And each time the government closes, it becomes easier to imagine a future where this isn’t the exception but the rule.The United States cannot afford to keep running on shutdown politics. The climate crisis, economic inequality, and the challenges of sustaining democracy itself demand continuity, not collapse. We need a politics that treats stability and resilience not as partisan victories, but as basic commitments to one another. Otherwise, the real shutdown isn’t just of the government — it’s of democracy itself." } ] }