4. Elizabeth Street Garden

Elizabeth Street GardenElizabeth Street Garden

The Elizabeth Street Garden, located in between the neighborhoods of Little Italy and SoHo, is a one-acre sculpture garden with an emphasis on neoclassical sculptures. The garden often hosts neighborhood art exhibitions, yoga classes, and small festivals. However, the garden is in serious danger of being demolished in place of a new housing development, and in March 2019, the garden filed a lawsuit against the City of New York challenging the decision. According to the garden, all open spaces in Little Italy and SoHo are paved, and these two neighborhoods have a very small open space ratio of 0.07 acres per 1,000 residents. The garden has released a number of models for how the community can save the garden, as well as the garden’s vision for a sustainable future.

The sculpture garden contains a number of marble, granite, and stone statues reminiscent of neoclassical architecture. The garden houses a stone-and-granite balustrade designed by French landscape artist Jacques-Henri-Auguste Gréber. There are a number of sculptures of lions, sphinxes, and mythological figures amid flowering plants.